"How dare you"; "He's being so funny" - Fans divided as Donald Trump downplays Shohei Ohtani’s greatness with lukewarm compliment

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani had one of the greatest performances in postseason history after the Japanese two-way phenom smashed three home runs and pitched six scoreless innings in NLDS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The baseball community has been in awe of the three-time MVP's performance. Ohtani's performance has also grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump, who paid a lukewarm compliment to the slugger as LSU's baseball team visited the White House this week.

"I did watch the other night....there happened to be a Japanese player who was not bad. He's pretty good, right?" Trump said.

Fans reacted to Trump's reaction to Ohtani's postseason heroics.

"🤣🤣 he is being so funny, he always has the best time with athletes."

"How dare you talk about my goat."

"Trump hyping Ohtani—Japan's MVP legend! Can't wait for your visit!"

"Noting that President Trump didn’t mention Ohtani’s name, does that mean he doesn’t remember his name?"

"Here happened to be a Japanese player who was not bad."

According to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Donald Trump hailed Ohtani as one of the best players he has ever seen:

“One of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen, one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen.”

The Japanese phenom is in contention for his fourth MVP award and could win his second consecutive World Series ring as the Dodgers prepare to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the Fall Classic.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash