MLB Twitter reacts to amazing Shohei Ohtani stat putting him above Carlos Rodon and Max Scherzer: "He's in a league of his own"

Shohei Ohtani has done nothing but impress MLB fans ever since he came to the league in 2018. He's been toted as the league's unicorn with his ability to both pitch and hit at an elite level. He's nothing short of a modern-day Babe Ruth.

The Los Angeles Angels have seemingly figured out the best way to deploy Ohtani during the season. When he wasn't pitching, the team deployed him as their designated hitter. This took a lot of workload off his arm and it really showed when he was on the mound.

ERA+ takes a pitcher's ERA and adjusts it for ballpark factors and opponents. It's deemed the most universally accepted tool for measuring a pitcher's performance.

Ohtani had a better ERA+ than both Carlos Rodon and Max Scherzer. On top of that, he had a better OPS+ than Mookie Betts and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He rivals the league's top hitters and pitchers, which is absurd.

Some fans are hoping that this is the start of two-way players becoming the norm in baseball. Many players grow up both hitting and pitching but are told to pick one or the other as they get older. If this was never a thing in the first place, who knows how many Shohei Ohtani-type players there could have been?

Other fans can't believe he didn't win the MVP Award this year. They think he was outright robbed of the award as he was the best player on both sides of the ball.

Shohei Ohtani has found himself these last two seasons

Shohei Ohtani is coming off consecutive All-Star game appearances. He's gotten comfortable with the pace of play in the MLB. In 2022, his 666 plate appearances were the most in his MLB career. He raised his batting average from .257 in 2021 to .273 in 2022.

His biggest jump came on the mound this season. He held a respectable 15-9 record. It seemed as if the only game that the Angels won was when Ohtani was on the bump. He lowered his ERA from 3.18 to 2.33. He also had a career-high of 219 strikeouts.

Ohtani is one of the most complete players we have ever seen enter this league. It will be interesting to see if he ushers in a new generation of two-way players.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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