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Shohei Ohtani has a case to be the greatest baseball player ever. He does something only one other player has ever done: pitch and hit. Only Babe Ruth has ever really done that at the highest level, and Ohtani has done it more and arguably better than Ruth.
Ohtani hasn't pitched since 2023, but he's on his way back to the mound this season. When he does, he will once again become a two-way player and continue doing things no one has ever done.
That said, 14-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez doesn't think the LA Dodgers star is the greatest player he's ever seen play. He's up there, but Rodriguez quickly named someone else: Barry Bonds.
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A-Rod's comments sent MLB fans into a debate in the comments section.
"Not hard to imagine that this would be how Alex Rodriguez feels about Barry Bonds. Both his and Bonds numbers are inflated by steroids," one said.
"Pitchers talk about Bonds in the same way other players talk about Jordan and Gretzky. He was one-of-one," another added.
"It's not even close Barry now, Barry forever, Barry f*****g always," one chimed in.
"Why would he say Shohei?! Shohei isn’t even the best player in the game today," one noted.
"Arod the first baseball player with CTE," another joked.
"He has to mention a known cheater to not diminish his own legacy," one accused.
The former New York Yankees star's take had fans split over whether he was right or wrong.
Alex Rodriguez explains Barry Bonds over Shohei Ohtani take
Alex Rodriguez claimed that the best baseball player he's ever seen was Barry Bonds, not Shohei Ohtani. The embattled former San Francisco Giants star had steroid allegations late in his career and remains out of the Hall of Fame.
Speaking on "The Zach Gelb Show," Rodriguez said:
"The best player I've ever seen is Barry Bonds, like head and shoulders above everyone. Almost like Michael Jordan, like just a class of his own. Barry Bonds was so good it's hard to articulate how good this guy was... Barry Bonds is in a class of his own."
With that said, Rodriguez clarified his stance:
"However, Barry doesn't pitch, and Barry can't throw 100 miles an hour, even though Barry would probably tell you he could. As far as the most unique, most special player that I've ever seen, it has to be Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, especially when he's able to pitch as well, because that then only becomes a class of two. Shohei and Babe Ruth."
Ohtani is, in Rodriguez's eyes, the most unique baseball player ever, but that doesn't necessarily make him the greatest.
