What makes Shohei Ohtani so special in the eyes of MLB fans is his ability to both hit and pitch at an elite level. Nobody in the history of the game has been able to do what Ohtani has done as a two-way force before. His two-way prowess has blinded some MLB fans from the reality that he's become one of the most-feared two-way players in MLB history. The Los Angeles Dodgers' superstar is approaching Barry Bonds' level in that regard.
Obviously, Ohtani isn't on Bonds' level as a hitter, and he's never going to hit 73 home runs in a single season like Bonds did, but when discussing the element of fear a hitter brings, Ohtani has to be on a short list for most-feared hitters ever based on what we've seen in this World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays want absolutely nothing to do with him, and honestly, it's hard to blame them.
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Why the Blue Jays are terrified of Shohei Ohtani
Second, Ohtani is just superhuman at this point. I mean, he's likely going to win his third-straight MVP award mainly because of his production at the plate. Sure, his postseason got off to a rough start as a hitter, but even with his 0-for-3 performance in Game 4, Ohtani has gone 9-for-18 with six home runs, two doubles and eight walks (four intentional) in 26 plate appearances. He's reached base 17 times in his last 26 plate appearances with eight extra-base hits. I mean, why would anyone want to pitch to that guy?
John Schneider is well aware that guys like Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith can beat him at any moment. Heck, Freeman and Smith have both had signature moments in this series. He'd still rather they beat him than Ohtani, and why shouldn't he? As great as those guys are, Ohtani is in a league of his own.
Only players in a league of their own get intentionally walked four times in one game.
How Shohei Ohtani compares to Barry Bonds and pitchers' worst nightmares
There's fear, and there's Bonds-like fear. I've never seen a player get Bonds treatment quite like Shohei Ohtani.
Bonds, of course, drew as many as 120 intentional walks in a single regular season. He drew 21 intentional walks in his postseason career, and as many as three in one game. He was even once intentionally walked with the bases loaded. There's nothing comparable. Here's a look at how Ohtani stacks up against some of the most dominant hitters in MLB history in the regular-season intentional walk department.
Player | Intentional Walks | PA/IBB |
|---|---|---|
Barry Bonds | 688 | 18.32 |
Albert Pujols | 316 | 41.27 |
Freddie Freeman | 142 | 65.94 |
Aaron Judge | 104 | 48.10 |
Shohei Ohtani | 88 | 49.18 |
Bonds drew 688 intentional walks, averaging an intentional walk once every 18.3 times he stepped up to the plate. Nobody has ever and presumably will ever come close to that mark. However, Ohtani is quickly becoming more fearsome for pitchers.
Ohtani has drawn 88 intentional walks in his career, and 85 of those have come in his last five years. He's drawn an intentional walk once in every 49.2 plate appearances, but he's drawn an intentional walk once every 39.55 plate appearances in the last five years. That isn't quite Bonds-like, but it'd have him sitting in second place comfortably among the five players on this list.
I'd argue Judge is close to as dominant as Ohtani, but pitchers haven't treated him as such in recent years. I mean, Judge shattered his career-high with 36 intentional walks in the regular season. Ohtani drew 11.11 percent of those in a playoff game, and all of those came in the ninth inning or later. Sure, the stakes are higher in the postseason and that's why teams might be willing to be more careful with Ohtani, but then how do you explain the fact that Judge has drawn a total of three intentional walks in his entire postseason career? Ohtani drew more in one game than Judge has in his entire career.
Each of these walks came in a spot that could've lost the Jays the game. One Betts double would've scored him and won the game right there. The Jays were willing to take that gamble, which is unlike treatment anyone other than Bonds has received.
Ohtani drew those walks while being part of what is unequivocally a better lineup than any Judge has ever been in with the New York Yankees. Ohtani has two future Hall of Famers and probably the best offensive catcher in the National League, hitting behind him, and the Blue Jays just don't care. They're willing to do what it takes to have anyone but Ohtani beat them.
Shohei Ohtani still has work to do to catch Barry Bonds, but he's on his way to his level
Shohei Ohtani | Barry Bonds | |
|---|---|---|
Regular Season OBP | .374 | .444 |
Regular Season OPS | .957 | 1.051 |
Postseason OBP | .393 | .433 |
Postseason OPS | .966 | .936 |
The numbers show that Ohtani is not on Bonds' level offensively. Bonds got on base a lot more both in the regular season and postseason, and his slugging far exceeded Ohtani's in the regular season. Ohtani has done a bit more damage in the postseason than Bonds, which is noteworthy, but as the OBP would suggest, pitchers feared Bonds a bit more.
Bonds was at another level. There's no disputing that. However, I do believe Ohtani is on his way toward becoming arguably the second-most-feared hitter ever. Pitchers are starting to fear Ohtani more than they ever have, and who's to say he won't get even better and scarier in 2026?
Will Ohtani ever catch Bonds? Probably not. If he continues to get intentionally walked, though, he's going to climb the ranks when it comes to discussing the most feared hitters ever, if he isn't already among them.