MLB
Shohei Ohtani compared to Barry Bonds by LA Dodgers coach
The LA Dodgers coach compared the Japanese superstar to one of baseball’s greatest names.
Everyone knows how good Shohei Ohtani is, but no one knows how far he can go. The Dodgers designated hitter is on his way to becoming Major League Baseball’s all-time best player and on a personal level he has already been named to the All-Star team three times and has won the American League Most Valuable Player award twice.
Without a doubt, Shohei Ohtani is one of the best ballplayers in the game today and his power pitching ability is what makes him stand out above the rest. We have yet to see the dual-threat’s full potential as he is just about to turn 30-years-old on July 5 and is expected to be at his best in a Dodgers uniform.
‘I can’t imagine the stress on opposing teams knowing what a danger he is’
Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Dodgers and is already showing flashes of his talent in his first 33 games. The designated hitter has seven homers, 20 RBIs and an OPS of 1.017. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts talked about the first months with Shohei Ohtani and believes there are similarities with the historic Barry Bonds.
“I’m not saying that Ohtani is Barry [Bonds],” Roberts said, speaking to USA Today. “but when I played against Barry, it was like he was always looming. Ohtani is just like that. I can’t imagine the stress it puts on opposing teams knowing that he’s looming. He’s always there. It’s got to be stressful.”
“I think as far as the talent Barry was the most talented player I’ve ever played with, and Shohei probably has a chance to be the most talented player ever to play the game of baseball,” Roberts told SportsNet LA in February. “So I’m eager to get to know him more, to watch him on the day to day. From the short sample from Shohei’s side, very intentional about all of his work. Barry was very intentional about his work. Everything was done with a purpose.” Dave Roberts told SportsNet back in February.
Shohei Ohtani may surpass Barry Bonds in numbers, but he will have to keep putting numbers on the board. The Japanese superstar has 174 home runs, 456 RBIs and 91 stolen bases in nearly seven MLB seasons. That is not far behind Barry Bonds, who finished his seventh season with 206 homers and 631 RBIs.