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Shohei Ohtani is just 31-years-old. He's only been in Major League Baseball since the 2018 season. He's played in just 1033 regular-season games as a hitter, and "just" 29 postseason games. He's also already completely, comprehensively made the case that he belongs on baseball's Mount Rushmore. In fact, he might be the first player you'd think of when discussing the top-4 players the game's ever seen. That was already the case before yet another jaw-dropping performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series. But his stat line in the 18-inning marathon cemented his place among the legends of the sport. Oh, and he's the starting pitcher in Wednesday night's Game 4 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He's already accomplishing things we've never seen before on a baseball field. Like, for example, in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers. As the starting pitcher, Ohtani went 6+ innings, allowing no runs with 10 strikeouts. As a hitter, he hit three home runs, providing nearly all the Dodgers' offense in their series-clinching win. Somehow, he's been even more impressive in the World Series. Shohei Ohtani Accomplishes The Impossible In Game 3, Ohtani led off with a double. In the third inning, he hit his second home run of the series to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, he smoked a double into the left-center field alley to drive in a run and pull the Dodgers to within 4-3. Then in the 7th inning, he hit his second homer of the game to tie the score at 5-5. After that, Toronto simply stopped pitching to him. He was walked intentionally four straight times. Then was pitched around for a fifth straight walk. All told, between Game 4 of the NLCS and Monday night's World Series Game 3, Ohtani's stat line in his last two games at Dodger Stadium is somewhere beyond a video game. At the plate, he's 7 for his last 7 with two doubles, an insane five home runs, six runs batted in, six runs scored and six walks. Then there's the six scoreless innings with 10 K's. His nine times reaching base in Game 4 was a postseason record. Even his teammates are in awe of what he's accomplishing. "I don't know how he does it," said Max Muncy after Monday's game. "Every time he goes out there and pitches, I kind of look at him and the first thought that comes to my head is, 'That guy must sleep really good at night.'" "He's the best player on the planet, and he was on the heels of a huge offensive night," added manager Dave Roberts. "And [Blue Jays manager John Schneider] smelled that and wasn't going to let Shohei beat him at all." On Monday, he became the first player with multiple games of 12 total bases or more in a single playoff run. Only one other player has multiple games in a postseason career with that many total bases: Babe Ruth. That's the company Ohtani belongs in. His 156 weighted runs created plus, where 100 is league average, ranks 17th in the history of Major League Baseball. And he's doing it in an era where pitchers routinely throw over 100mph. He's consistently been one of the best pitchers in the game when healthy too. Ruth, for all his exploits, didn't do both full-time for this many seasons. Ruth and Willie Mays belong on MLB's Rushmore. There's plenty to debate over Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds or Hank Aaron. What isn't up for debate? That Shohei Ohtani is right there with them.
