Babe Ruth Step Aside, Shohei Ohtani is Now the Greatest Ever in Baseball History

When Shohei Ohtani was with the Los Angeles Angels, I rooted for him and marveled at his dual skills of pitching and hitting, feats that are not supposed to be possible at the same time in Major League Baseball (MLB).

When he bolted to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani became part of a team that I grew to hate. When the O’Malleys controlled the Dodgers, I was one of their staunchest fans, growing up “Bleeding Dodger Blue,” as the saying goes.

PLAY THE AUDIO BY PUSHING THE BUTTON BELOW 

When the O’Malleys sold out to Frank McCourt, the scene at Dodger Stadium became one of gang central. Men wearing gang paraphernalia peopled the stands and threw ice and other objects at any fan who showed up wearing an opponent’s jersey.

Gangs even put one San Francisco Giants’ fan in a wheelchair, beating him so severely for wearing an opposing jersey that he became paralyzed waist down.

My love affair began to ebb. When McCourt sold to a group of investors who turned the Beloved Bums into the New York Yankees West, my love turned into hate. I haven’t followed the Dodgers since, and have indeed rooted for them to lose every game.

Let’s face it: The Dodgers’ annual payroll is now nearing half a billion dollars, what with Ohtani’s contract deferred for ten years and not showing up on payroll data that has to be submitted to MLB.

All that aside, I just learned that Ohtani turned in a game for the ages. He not only pitched six scoreless, two-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, but he also slammed three mammoth home runs.

So, Dodger hatred aside, my hat goes off to Mr. Ohtani, who is now clearly Mr. Baseball worldwide.