Oct 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts to his solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning of game four of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

You might think this is hyperbolic, even after what we all just witnessed from Shohei Ohtani in the Los Angeles Dodgers' Game 4 win to put them into a second straight World Series: Only the greatest game ever played with Ohtani dominating on the mound and at the plate.

But I don't think this is a scalding hot take: Shohei Ohtani is the greatest MLB player who ever lived. The GOAT. The best of the best of the best. And he's not done yet.

Think about what you saw Friday night. Three home runs, one of which TRAVELED OUT OF DODGER STADIUM. A 10-strikeout shutout on the mound. Those aren't human feats that just anyone can accomplish. That's GOAT stuff.

The thing that I've always felt about Ohtani is how effortless it all seems from him while simultaneously and noticeably being SO athletic. At times, it feels like he's barely breaking a sweat doing what he does as a two-way player. Yet he can throw triple-digit heat when pitching, along with delivering one of my favorite sounds in sports: The BOOM of the ball off his bat that I haven't heard from any other slugger. It's not a CRACK. It's a thunderclap.

Then there's the fact that we're talking about a player who gave us the first 50-50 season in MLB history. That was in a 2024 season in which he couldn't pitch as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, so with that extra, unused energy he had stored up, he STOLE 59 BASES. WHILE HITTING .310! Imagine what he could do if he DIDN'T pitch.

He's checked all the boxes he needs to already: He's a three-time MVP, Rookie of the Year and a World Series champion (with a second World Series appearance incoming and a chance for ring No. 2).

You can give me Babe Ruth arguments given his two-way abilities as a pitcher. You can argue that there was no greater athlete than Willie Mays, no greater slugger than Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds, no greater pure hitter than Ted Williams. All valid.

But Shohei Ohtani bests them all. You are witnessing the GOAT in his prime. Don't take it for granted.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Shohei Ohtani is already the GOAT in MLB history

Reporting by Charles Curtis, For The Win / For The Win

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