"Shohei Ohtani has earned that right" - Dalton Rushing reveals Dodgers superstar is in the 1 percent of pitchers who possess a special attribute

Dalton Rushing revealed an interesting fact about Shohei Ohtani, who has earned admiration from teammates and opponents with his two-way skillset. Rushing disclosed that Ohtani has the freedom to call his pitches.

Rushing is a promising catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, touted as a successor to Will Smith. The 24-year-old made the comments about Ohtani during his interview with Red Sox insider Rob Bradford on Monday for "Baseball Isn't Boring."

When Bradford asked him who was the most unique pitcher or pitch he had caught, he named the three-time MVP.

"It's got to be something from Sho [Shohei Ohtani]," Rushing said [12:47]. "Shohei's splitter is pretty good. Both Shohei's sliders are pretty good. Fastball is good."

Ohtani had been pitching for the Dodgers this season, as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Rushing was among the first to catch for Ohtani, and he considered it to be a privilege.

Rushing also shared with Bradford that Shohei Ohtani calls his pitches. Hearing this, Bradford asked what percentage of pitchers do that.

"1 percent," Rushing replied. "He has earned that right."

Traditionally, catchers are the primary pitch callers in MLB games. They use their knowledge of the pitcher's strengths, the batter's tendencies and game situations to select pitches. Another big name who calls their pitches is Max Scherzer.

Sportscaster hails Dodgers' strategy of easing Ohtani back into pitching

On Thursday, sportscaster Dan Patrick hailed Shohei Ohtani's impressive slugging and the Dodgers' cautious usage of the Japanese star on the mound. At that time, Ohtani was on a tear, racking up five homers in five games.

Deep diving into the statistics, Patrick realized that 34 percent of Ohtani's hits were homers. Only Cal Raleigh, with 41 percent, and Kyle Schwarber, with 36 percent, were higher.

"I do like what the Dodgers are doing with Ohtani," Patrick said [from 1:29]. "That is you can ease him back in. If he was just a pitcher, the strategy would be different. But what they're doing is pitch a couple of innings, maybe they have a pitch count. But this is all about the postseason."

However, he questioned whether the Dodgers could use Shohei Ohtani as a closer, as many believe is feasible due to logistical challenges like warming up mid-game, especially if he is the designated hitter.

Patrick also noted that Ohtani's batting average has fallen from close to .300 to around .275. But he still believes that the Dodgers superstar is a big threat on the plate.