Shohei Ohtani delivered a historic performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, leading them to a World Series berth with a display that will be remembered in baseball lore.
The Japanese superstar dazzled fans by pitching six scoreless innings, giving up only two hits, and astonishing everyone with three home runs that collectively spanned 1,342 feet.
Just months after signing a groundbreaking 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers in December 2023, Ohtani made history by becoming the first pitcher to hit a leadoff home run in a Major League game, doing so shortly after striking out three batters in the opening inning.
This victory not only clinched the National League pennant for the Dodgers but also completed a 4-0 series sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ohtani and his team are now set to face off against either the Seattle Mariners or the Toronto Blue Jays as they aim for consecutive World Series titles.
Fans watched in amazement and quickly took to social media, declaring Ohtani superior to Babe Ruth, often hailed as baseball’s greatest player of all time.
Shohei Ohtani delivered one of the greatest performances in baseball history on Friday night
Ohtani smashed three remarkable home runs against the stunned Milwaukee Brewers
The Japanese two-way sensation also pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits
One fan said: ‘Shohei Ohtani with an out of the park home run. His 2nd home run of the night. He’s pitching a shutout too. Babe Ruth.’
Another commented: ‘Shohei Ohtani is a modern day Babe Ruth.’
A third posted: ‘There’s no reason to have discussions anymore. No one has ever played the game of baseball like Shohei Ohtani.
‘No one can or will ever do this again. He is the GOAT.’
‘I never want to hear about Babe Ruth or Aaron Judge again. Shohei Ohtani is the greatest person to ever play baseball. Period. Strikes out 3 in the top of the 1st and hits a HR in the bottom of the 1st lol,’ another fan said.
Sports analyst Skip Bayless was also stunned by Ohtani’s performance. He posted on X: ‘Shohei, pitching a shutout, just hit one of the longest home runs ever at Dodger Stadium – his second of the game after his first-inning leadoff bomb. GREATEST BASEBALL PLAYER EVER.’
Ruth, who died of throat cancer at 53, won seven World Series titles and hit 714 home runs during his illustrious career that spanned spells with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Ruth began as a left-handed pitcher and became a slugging outfielder, playing for 22 major league seasons before retiring in 1935. In his prime, he would hit more home runs than some entire teams, and he was known for his flair on and off the field.
Babe Ruth won seven World Series titles and hit 714 home runs during his illustrious career
After striking out three Brewers in the top of the first, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history. He hit a second titanic drive in the fourth and launched a third solo homer in the seventh.
The three-time MVP became the 12th player to hit three homers in a postseason game and the first since Chris Taylor did it for the Dodgers in October 2021.
Along with his theatrics at the plate, Ohtani dominated Milwaukee batters during his second postseason pitching start. He allowed only two hits and walked off the mound to a stadium-shaking ovation after the Brewers’ first two batters reached base in the seventh.
Ohtani quickly broke out of his postseason hitting slump with a 446-foot shot to right field off Brewers starter Jose Quintana for the first leadoff homer hit by a pitcher in any big league game.
He became the first pitcher to record three strikeouts and a homer in the same inning in the postseason, and the first to do it in any game since Huascar Ynoa for Atlanta in 2021.
Ohtani followed with a 469-foot shot off a low, inside cutter from Chad Patrick in the fourth. The ball appeared to clear the pavilion roof above the right-center bleachers at Dodger Stadium after leaving his bat at 116.9 mph.
Before this game, Ohtani hadn’t contributed much to the Dodgers with his bat during their otherwise impressive playoff run to another World Series.
Before Game 4, Ohtani was in a 6-for-38 drought as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter in the postseason. The fearsome slugger, who was third in the majors with 55 homers during the regular season, hadn’t connected since September 30.
Ohtani was mobbed by his Dodgers teammates as their fans celebrated his third home run
While his two-way role requires him to do extensive off-field work to stay ready for both jobs, Ohtani probably wouldn’t blame his plate struggles on his pitching responsibilities.
In fact, he had pitched in only two games over the past 30 days before Game 4, thanks to the permutations of the Dodgers’ schedule.
In his last regular-season start, Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings of five-hit ball against Arizona on September 23, throwing a season-high 91 pitches.
In his MLB postseason mound debut on October 4, he gave up three runs over six innings with nine strikeouts to earn the victory in Los Angeles’ 5-3 win at Philadelphia in the Division Series opener.
