Just some historical context. Ohtani pitches six innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts and hits 3 homers against the Brewers.

Wise pitches a nine inning no-hitter (one walk away from a perfect game) and hits 2 homers against the Reds.

There’s been many great games in MLB history. I rank Wise’s day above Ohtani.

EDIT: Rick Wise’s Second Homer

29 comments

  1. Talent pool is better today. Its harder to do what Ohtani did today than what Rick did in 1971.

  5. I fully agree. But Ohtani had his day in the NLCS series clincher.

    If you want to factor in the postseason significance then Ohtani’s game is more impressive. If you don’t care about that factor and just look at pure dominance. Then Wise’s day will likely never be eclipsed. Tossing a no hitter and hitting two home runs in the same game imo is already #1. But the fact his was one walk away from a perfect game really tops it off.

    Either way you look at it…. the two most dominant single game performances by a player ever.

  6. Didn’t happen in the playoffs and sure as heck wasn’t the game that sent Wise’s team to the world series. Generally people have been saying it’s the “greatest playoff performance of all time”.

  9. Scouring stats for a day better or equal to Ohtani’s just to say it was better is why Ohtani is the goat

  11. Didn’t realize June was in October. 

    You look like an asshole trying to find ways Ohtani isn’t great. Stop being a hater.

  12. Ohtani did it to clinch a trip to the World Series and hit three no doubt homers, against the best regular season team in baseball, off three different pitchers.

    There’s certainly been some remarkable games in history statistically that match Ohtani’s, but context makes this game unlike any other.

  13. My thoughts as well. Ohtani’s performance might be the best ever in the postseason–the 3 HR alone puts him in a fairly small club, doing it while also pitching six shutout innings and striking out 10 is crazy–but a 1-walk no-hitter with 2 HR is crazy. Only three other pitchers even hit one HR in their no-hitters and none of them were perfect games, so Wise is certifiably the only pitcher to throw a complete game while hitting more homers than he allowed baserunners.

    Well, probably. I suppose it’s possible some other pitcher had a multi-homer game while allowing only one baserunner but that baserunner came via a hit. But multi-homer games by pitchers, Shohei excluded, are pretty rare.

  14. I’m really not a fan of these comparisons. I think it might have something to do with a lot of people wanting the “greatest player ever” or “greatest performance ever” to happen in THEIR lifetime, but I really don’t know. 

    Ohtani’s performance was undeniably one for the ages and truly amazing to watch. That’s enough for me, personally. 

  15. For the game itself, I agree, Wise’s is probably above Ohtani. Yes his strikeout total is significantly less, but that’s also in a era where players didn’t strike out as much and hit for a much better average.

    That being said, the fact that Ohtani’s was against a 97-win team in the NLCS clincher, the context behind the game would put Ohtani’s higher, even if I think that just going off the stats Wise’s was better

  17. Just want to say Wise was one of those guys that was necessary back in the days of 9 or 10 man pitching staffs.He wasn’t blowing anybody away but he cranked out 220 innings year after year after year.He made his debut at 18 and pitched in the majors till he was 36.He won a lot of games and he lost a lot of games but he was always available.Even made two All Star teams.With these 13 man max effort super staffs every team has now the Rick Wises of the world are gone forever.This is the result of the universal DH and manfred man.One game in 1971 he had a day.OP is not hating on Ohtani.

  18. No worries. I’m used to it by now. Although I must admit it can get discouraging when all you want to do is throw some perspective into the mix and you’re downvoted into oblivion.

    I will die on the hill that Willie Mays was the greatest player I ever saw in person. Yes, my fellow Redditors, even better than Ken Griffey Jr.

  20. I was only 9 when Wise had his game, but I was REALLY into baseball stats and cards. I would often debate with my schoolmates about best games ever and always refer to the Wise game. A pitcher hitting 2 home runs AND a no-hitter? Such an amazing feat and still is.

    BUT…

    Looking back, the Reds were the “Big Red Machine” from 1970-1976 with no less than 95 wins each season EXCEPT for the 1971 season where they finished 11GB with a 79-93 record. The game was in June and before the game the Reds were 32-38, 14GB of SF, so a very low-leverage game. I’m betting dollars to doughnuts it wasn’t on TV and the National audience could care less about watching it if it were. Wise had 3K 1BB with a GameScore of 89! He hit his HR’s off of rookie Ross Grimsley and All-Star closer Clay Carroll. An impressive feat.

    Ohtani, high-leverage potential pennant closeout game vs a team with the seasons best record in MLB. Plus you had basically all of baseball fandom in the US and Canada watching as well as Japan & Korea. He had 10K 3BB with a GameScore of 75. 3HR off of former All-Star Jose Quintana, rookie Chad Patrick and All-Star close Trevor Megill. Equally as impressive.

    Personally, I give the nod to Ohtani, not just for the performance, but for what stage is was set on.

  21. Rich Wise’s performance was phenomenal.

    The Phillies were a bad team in 1971. I remember that a week or so earlier, Wise was quoted as saying something like “To win with this team, you need to pitch a no hitter and hit a home run.”

    At the end of the season, the Phillies traded him to Saint Louis for their pitcher also with an attitude issue, Steve Carlton.

    In 1972, Carlton won 27 games on a Phillies team that only won 59 games.

    So in back to back years, they had one of the best pitcher single-game performances and the absolute most impressive season performance by a pitcher.

  22. Statistically speaking, Wise’s performance might be superior. But even setting aside the difference between NLCS and RS game, I think there’s still a huge gap between the two.

    When most pitchers hit home runs in games like this—like when Kershaw once did—it’s usually a surprising “lucky punch.” In Ohtani’s case, though, he’s hitting those homers *as the most feared and studied hitter on his team.* That makes it an entirely different level of achievement.

  23. Later on that year Wise pitched an extra inning complete game, retired the last 32 batters in a row and had the game winning hit in the 12th inning!

  26. I asked this on a comment somewhere already, but I’m super new to baseball and can’t understand how a no hitter with only 2 strikeouts can be possible. Was it just fly balls being caught out over and over?

  27. That was an amazing accomplishment by Rick! OP, unlike others who are downvoting you, I want to thank you for this piece of trivia.

    Imho Ohtani’s accomplishments yesterday still takes the cake. No hitters are rare for pitchers but not as rare as 3 hrs games for pitchers! In the long history of baseball, only 3 starting pitchers have hit 3 hrs in a game. That’s the unicorn aspect of Ohtani. Another reason is that I could see Ohtani duplicating or topping his feat from yesterday in the future! So I don’t see his accomplishment in the LCS as a one hit one wonder fluke!

  28. They were never letting him pitch past the 6 inning even if it were a perfect game. His hitting is too valuable.

    Also, his 3 homeruns were TANKS, all over 420ft. There’s something big to be said about him being the most feared hitter on either team.

  29. And Wise did it again that August, pitching a complete game, with 11 Ks, and 2 homers, driving in 6 of his team’s 7 runs.

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