The comparison was more prospective than anything (meaning we have no idea if/when Ohtani will fall off a cliff) but to that point, Ohtani wasn't a god at the plate until he was 26. Since then he's had four of the most absurd seasons of all time, but if you're talking about GOATs, you're comparing him to guys like Bonds who put up 16 year stretches where his second worst WAR total was 6.0 in a strike shortened season.
He's absurd. He's not the hitter Bonds was but he's still a top-3 hitter and an elite pitching talent. It's crazy
Biggest gripe in the Gretzky/McDavid conversations. Who gives a shit about team awards when discussing best individual players. Best =/= most accomplished
Am I sure that I think the best player in baseball is the guy who went 50/50 and has an OPS of 1.035 over the last three years, while also being an elite pitcher?
A top 3 hitter today but Bonds was like a standard deviation (used colloquially, not mathematically) better than everyone else. The kid glove limits on his innings this year is a pretty big help to those metrics, easier to put up career bests in K/9 and BB/9 when you're never facing batters a third time. Obviously this is nitpicking and he's one of a very small number of the best ever to play.
It's not about team accomplishments (Bonds never won a World Series). What Bonds did do was put up 8 seasons with a higher WAR than Ohtani's best season to date And that was his worst full hitting season, but who knows, maybe at 30 years young after losing a second season on the mound due to his elbow he picked up a mile on his fastball and became a better pitcher
If only he had access to the same medical technology Bonds did maybe he'd have a few more years of eliteness! But even if he didn't hit in 2022 and having not pitched in 2024, I'm still impressed that someone could be a top-1 hitter and top-3 pitcher at any time for any length of time
He's a CYA contending pitcher who hit 50 homers with 50 steals in the same season. It's beyond fiction how good he is.
MLB Stolen Bases by Year: 2021 - 2,214 2022 - 2,487 2023 - 3,503 2024 - 3,617 2025 - 3,192 & Counting Let's stop pretending SB's mean as much as they use to. MLB increased the size of the bases in 2023 and changed pickoff attempts for pitchers. People like Acuna doubled their SB's in 2023. These rule changes are probably more performance enhancing than growth hormone. Lets not forget about home runs, in 2019 the home run record was shattered as baseballs had lower seams creating less drag. Yeah, more home runs in 2019 than any point in the steroid era. GOAT my ass.
Yeah and pitchers today throw 146 miles per hour I think bonds is the best hitter of all time but appreciate the unicorn here
Also SBs are up but they averaged over 3000 per year during Bonds's career. Let's not make it seem like we just invented SBs
Ohtani is a gambling degenerate that turned on his best friend to avoid jail time. Give me the guy that never failed a drug test, Barry Bonds.
The three most traditional powers in baseball being in the AL Wild card spots while Toronto, Seattle and Detroit are division leaders is pretty great.
Hi first time long time why isnt Cal the MVP favorite? Does the degree of difficulty of being a catcher not factor in? accepting replies from all but one poster. Tysm
Judge is having a significantly better year at the plate. Major League Leaderboards - 2025 - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball https://share.google/aPAAmxBBqrqRJOPJs
Because Aaron Judge has the luxury of being the worst defensive outfielder in a little league sized outfield that limits his defensive damage a bit and contributes to his inflated HR totals and babip. #dumperin25
didnt want you to accuse me of cherry picking by omitting the one WS appearance against the burnt husk of a Dodgers rotation
It's s small sample size compared to his career in totality. Not sure why we're even talking about just postseason when discussing the best hitter in baseball. Judge is the best hitter since Bonds. Full stop.
Another good discussion is best right-handed hitter of all time. Judge has a very strong argument at this point. Highest wRC+ of anyone that played past 1950. We're seeing historic numbers and it's kinda glossed over bc of Ohtani and the 2 way factor.
Is that a bad thing? You like talking about Schwarber. Every HR by Raleigh is posted. It's the MLB thread. We talk baseball and he's pretty good.
All baseball players and probably all professional athletes are still on performance enhancing drugs.
Shohei Ohtani said he’s willing to play outfield for the Dodgers so they can use him as a relief pitcher, per @michaeljduarte Ohtani has played outfield in seven MLB games, all with the Angels in 2021— Talkin’ Baseball (Bot) (@talkinbaseballbot.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T18:18:23.000Z
42 year old Justin Verlander throwing 7 innings of shut out baseball with 107 pitches is so insane. Too bad they’re going up against a team of destiny
Cole Ragans first game back in over 3 months and he strikes out the side with 9 whiffs on 11 pitches. Holy moly.