Stephen A. Smith goes nuclear on abysmal Shohei Ohtani take (Video)

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is having a historic season, but Stephen A. Smith felt compelled to rain on the parade with a terrible take.

Sit back, relax and prepare to have that relaxation shattered by an awful take from Stephen A. Smith.

On ESPN’s First Take, Smith took on the hype surrounding Los Angeles Angels do-everything star Shohei Ohtani.

Nevermind that Ohtani is having a season of unprecedented success. It hasn’t impressed Smith for…reasons.

Ohtani leads the American League with a slugging percentage of .632. He tops major league baseball in home runs, extra-base hits and total bases. He’s 10th in stolen bases. He’s first in win probability added.

So what if his batting average is a perfectly respectable .271? That’s still better than all but 33 AL batters this season.

And Ohtani is a pitcher! A damn good one too. He has an ERA of 2.10, which matches Max Scherzer and only just trails Gerrit Cole.

The Angels don’t need his batting average to be .371 when he’s delivering that kind of output.

Stephen A. Smith has it all wrong on Shohei Ohtani

These accomplishments are unbelievable. Downplaying them is even more so.

It’s like looking at Stephen Curry’s NBA-leading 32 points per game this season and saying, “I mean, he’s good, but why is everyone so impressed. He’s only averaging .421 from distance. His two-point field goal percentage is barely .569. And the Warriors finished fourth in the Pacific.”

That just ain’t it.

Curry is great. Ohtani is great. Give them their due. They’ve earned it.

It’s okay to appreciate greatness when you see it. Having a unique take on every subject isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes, a player is just objectively having a historic year. Debate isn’t always required.

Of course, Smith and ESPN are getting what they wanted simply because people are talking about the horrendous take.