Shohei Ohtani is one of three modern-era players with at least 1000 hits and 50 games pitched
January 2, 2026
Shohei Ohtani is one of three modern-era players with at least 1000 hits and 50 games pitched
24 comments
It’s funny when people use arbitrary stat cut offs to exclude a very obvious player. I don’t know if it’s home team bias or what but just lowering the hits to 815 and games pitched to 7 games gives you Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Maybe people just aren’t ready to accept there’s TWO great two way players currently
Thanks Angels 😁👍
* [**Here’s**](https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/mjnmu) the stathead link.
* Ruth, Rogan, Johnson, Ruffing, and Dihigo are Hall of Famers. I think at least one other guy on the list might make it, too.
* Many of the players on the list came up as pitchers before becoming position players later (often because they blew their arms out).
* Rube Bressler was an unsuccessful teenage pitcher who went onto a good outfield career.
* Johnny Lindell had a career as a position player, and was one of the best players in 1944. He went down to the minors and then came back to the majors as a pitcher in the 1950s.
* “Nixey” Callahan was a good pitcher for the late-19th century Cubs who moved to the White Sox when the American League started. He threw a no-hitter in 1902 before transitioning to third baseman (and manager!) in 1903.
* Homer Curry and Ed Rile are both long-time Negro Leaguers I hadn’t heard of. That was the best picture I could find of Rile.
* Smoky Joe Wood was the ace of the early 1910s Red Sox powerhouse. He went 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA in 1912, including a famous duel against Johnson. Ty Cobb said that Wood was the hardest-throwing pitcher he ever faced. After blowing his arm out, he played a few years in the outfield for Cleveland. He was the long-time Yale baseball coach after retirement. Fun fact: his first name was actually Howard, not Joe.
* Wood and Ruth were both on the WS-winning 1915 Red Sox, but Ruth didn’t pitch in the series.
* Johnson and Ruffing were really good hitting starting pitchers. They were both regularly used as pinch hitters.
* Hal Jeffcoat was also a position player first, before becoming a pitcher in his 30s.
* Bucky Walters came up as a position player before becoming a pitcher. He won the 1939 NL pitching Triple Crown. He ended up with 53.6 career bWAR, and would have been a viable Hall of Famer.
* Bullet Rogan was one of the best pitchers and hitters in the 1930s Negro Leagues. Casey Stengel called him one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.
* Ankiel famously got the yips as a pitcher, but managed to have a solid career as an outfielder with a cannon.
* Dihigo was a two-way star in the Negro Leagues who was known to be an adept defensive player at all nine positions. He was arguably a six-tool player! Dihigo was the first Cuban-born player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
* You know who Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani are, but you might not know how good of a pitcher Ruth was. In 1915, he went 18-8 as a 20-year-old rookie. In 1916, he went 23-12 with an AL-best 1.75 ERA, and might have won the Cy Young if the award had existed. In 1917, he went 24-13 with 35 complete games. I don’t think people today realize that Ruth might have been a HOF pitcher if he hadn’t figured out that he could hit homers.
Smokey Joe won 30 games in one year, injured his arm, and then became a really good outfielder afterwards.
Guy really had ZERO quit in him!
I’m just here for the Bullet Rogan stats.
Happy to see Ankiel on a list
I’ve created a monster, ’cause nobody wants to see Bressler no more, they want Ohtani, I’m chopped liver. Well, if you want Ohtani, this is what I’ll give ya. A little bit of udon mixed with some warm sake.
Shohei isn’t gonna catch Ruth, is he? He’d need to average 228 hits a season through his contract or play into his 40s. I know, different eras and Ruth will have had more seasons to work with, but still.
TIL Walter Johnson could handle a bat.
Of his utterly grotesque 167.8 WAR, 12.7 are thanks to the bat.
Had a freaky year where he batted .433 across 97 at bats.
Kiké is just 123 hits and 40 pitching appearances from joining this list.
Some GREAT baseball names on that list.
Ankiel couldn’t throw strikes, but he could throw you out with a pinpoint throw from 300 feet away
“Modern Era”
I was looking for Lefty O’Doul on the list, but he finished 16 appearances short of the 50 games pitched requirement.
Off topic, but when does baseball collectively decide that we’re in a new era? It’s been 125 years and we’re still calling all of it modern. I know there’s lots of smaller sub-eras, but I digress… Smokey Joe Wood doesn’t feel so modern, that’s all I’m saying.
TIL Babe doesn’t have 3,000 hits. I always assumed he had 3k.
Idk who that Rube fella is, but props to him for 1k hits and being the only person in that group with Ruth until Ohtani came along. Pretty cool !
Rhode Island legend Johnny Cooney mentioned 💪💪💪💪
This is Cy Seymour erasure. He was Babe Ruth before Babe Ruth. But because he stopped pitching in 1900, he doesn’t count?
joey gallo will soon be #1 inshallah
#Shohei
#”Babe”
#Ohtani
I get the Dodger hate, but him being hidden away on the Angels where the masses never got to see him play and where he never got a playoff stage was an injustice to the game. He truly is a once in a lifetime player.
Pepperidge Farms remembers Rick Ankiel being the original 21st century 2 way player
24 comments
It’s funny when people use arbitrary stat cut offs to exclude a very obvious player. I don’t know if it’s home team bias or what but just lowering the hits to 815 and games pitched to 7 games gives you Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Maybe people just aren’t ready to accept there’s TWO great two way players currently
Thanks Angels 😁👍
* [**Here’s**](https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/mjnmu) the stathead link.
* Ruth, Rogan, Johnson, Ruffing, and Dihigo are Hall of Famers. I think at least one other guy on the list might make it, too.
* Many of the players on the list came up as pitchers before becoming position players later (often because they blew their arms out).
* Rube Bressler was an unsuccessful teenage pitcher who went onto a good outfield career.
* Johnny Lindell had a career as a position player, and was one of the best players in 1944. He went down to the minors and then came back to the majors as a pitcher in the 1950s.
* “Nixey” Callahan was a good pitcher for the late-19th century Cubs who moved to the White Sox when the American League started. He threw a no-hitter in 1902 before transitioning to third baseman (and manager!) in 1903.
* Homer Curry and Ed Rile are both long-time Negro Leaguers I hadn’t heard of. That was the best picture I could find of Rile.
* Smoky Joe Wood was the ace of the early 1910s Red Sox powerhouse. He went 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA in 1912, including a famous duel against Johnson. Ty Cobb said that Wood was the hardest-throwing pitcher he ever faced. After blowing his arm out, he played a few years in the outfield for Cleveland. He was the long-time Yale baseball coach after retirement. Fun fact: his first name was actually Howard, not Joe.
* Wood and Ruth were both on the WS-winning 1915 Red Sox, but Ruth didn’t pitch in the series.
* Johnson and Ruffing were really good hitting starting pitchers. They were both regularly used as pinch hitters.
* Hal Jeffcoat was also a position player first, before becoming a pitcher in his 30s.
* Bucky Walters came up as a position player before becoming a pitcher. He won the 1939 NL pitching Triple Crown. He ended up with 53.6 career bWAR, and would have been a viable Hall of Famer.
* Bullet Rogan was one of the best pitchers and hitters in the 1930s Negro Leagues. Casey Stengel called him one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.
* Ankiel famously got the yips as a pitcher, but managed to have a solid career as an outfielder with a cannon.
* Dihigo was a two-way star in the Negro Leagues who was known to be an adept defensive player at all nine positions. He was arguably a six-tool player! Dihigo was the first Cuban-born player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
* You know who Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani are, but you might not know how good of a pitcher Ruth was. In 1915, he went 18-8 as a 20-year-old rookie. In 1916, he went 23-12 with an AL-best 1.75 ERA, and might have won the Cy Young if the award had existed. In 1917, he went 24-13 with 35 complete games. I don’t think people today realize that Ruth might have been a HOF pitcher if he hadn’t figured out that he could hit homers.
Smokey Joe won 30 games in one year, injured his arm, and then became a really good outfielder afterwards.
Guy really had ZERO quit in him!
I’m just here for the Bullet Rogan stats.
Happy to see Ankiel on a list
I’ve created a monster, ’cause nobody wants to see Bressler no more, they want Ohtani, I’m chopped liver. Well, if you want Ohtani, this is what I’ll give ya. A little bit of udon mixed with some warm sake.
Shohei isn’t gonna catch Ruth, is he? He’d need to average 228 hits a season through his contract or play into his 40s. I know, different eras and Ruth will have had more seasons to work with, but still.
TIL Walter Johnson could handle a bat.
Of his utterly grotesque 167.8 WAR, 12.7 are thanks to the bat.
Had a freaky year where he batted .433 across 97 at bats.
Kiké is just 123 hits and 40 pitching appearances from joining this list.
Some GREAT baseball names on that list.
Ankiel couldn’t throw strikes, but he could throw you out with a pinpoint throw from 300 feet away
“Modern Era”
I was looking for Lefty O’Doul on the list, but he finished 16 appearances short of the 50 games pitched requirement.
Off topic, but when does baseball collectively decide that we’re in a new era? It’s been 125 years and we’re still calling all of it modern. I know there’s lots of smaller sub-eras, but I digress… Smokey Joe Wood doesn’t feel so modern, that’s all I’m saying.
TIL Babe doesn’t have 3,000 hits. I always assumed he had 3k.
Idk who that Rube fella is, but props to him for 1k hits and being the only person in that group with Ruth until Ohtani came along. Pretty cool !
Rhode Island legend Johnny Cooney mentioned 💪💪💪💪
This is Cy Seymour erasure. He was Babe Ruth before Babe Ruth. But because he stopped pitching in 1900, he doesn’t count?
joey gallo will soon be #1 inshallah
#Shohei
#”Babe”
#Ohtani
I get the Dodger hate, but him being hidden away on the Angels where the masses never got to see him play and where he never got a playoff stage was an injustice to the game. He truly is a once in a lifetime player.
Pepperidge Farms remembers Rick Ankiel being the original 21st century 2 way player