Longtime Giants center fielder Willie Mays and Dodgers designated hitter and starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani have their strengths, and Bruce Jenkins says both deserve to go on a baseball Mount Rushmore.
AP Photo, Brandon Sloter/Getty Images
Bryce Eldridge had quite the educational at-bat during his first visit to Dodger Stadium. Facing Shohei Ohtani in the San Francisco Giants’ third game of the series Wednesday night, he had the assignment of figuring out which of Ohtani’s seven-pitch assortment would be coming his way.
It could have been any of them. Ohtani makes his choices oblivious to the count. And with two strikes, Eldridge had no chance — as would just about any other hitter in the game — whiffing on a splitter that simply vanished on its way to the dirt.
Forever shocking, if not downright implausible: This is a pitcher who has hit 55 homers in a season. Who has led the league in RBIs, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases — often more than once, with a remarkable ability to come through in the big moments. So there’s no question about the greatest player in baseball history.
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I just wonder if there’s still room for Willie Mays.
This is not to diminish Ohtani’s greatness in any way, rather to elevate him onto baseball’s Mount Rushmore. Granted, these opinions get a little tedious, especially when it’s something like “The Mount Rushmore of salad dressings.” Baseball, the province of grand tradition, makes for a worthy discourse.
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So I submit these four: Babe Ruth for pioneering the long ball and lifting the game into the nation’s consciousness. Jackie Robinson for his life-changing social relevance. Ohtani for truly mastering the sport. And Mays as the game’s greatest ballplayer.
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That’s a great word, best used as a special compliment. The ballplayer is the consummate hitter, makes great plays in the field, alters games with his baserunning, and has a way about him, bearing no semblance to arrogance or bravado. He just looks the part. You spot him well before the game even starts.
Put it this way: In a sport defined by five specific tools, nobody measures up to Mays.
Hitting: Batting average is hardly the end-all stat, but it fits pretty well here. Ohtani has twice hit over .300, admirable in an era defined by rampant mediocrity. Mays did that 10 times in 12 years, including years of .345 and .347, and he averaged .301 (to Ohtani’s current .280) over a 23-year career.
Hitting for power: Ohtani is coming off a three-year run of 44, 54 and 55 homers, and Mays never matched that. But he was relentless, hitting 660 for his career, and questions have arisen about Ohtani’s longevity. The Dodgers have taken to removing him from the DH slot on the night he pitches, and he’s in a very awkward-looking slump at the moment. That could change in a big hurry, but Mays has to own the edge here.
Baserunning: Ohtani is a huge man who runs like the wind, and in his best season, two years ago, he stole 59 bases while being caught just four times. But he blows hot and cold on the bases, for understandable reasons. Mays is probably the most exciting, influential baserunner who ever lived, truly feared for that reason alone, and he led the league in steals four years in a row.
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Fielding: Ohtani doesn’t play in the field beyond the pitcher’s mound, let alone every day, so forget about this one. He’d likely be a textbook-fine outfielder if that was his calling. But Mays dominated games with his fielding, covering preposterous amounts of ground and making some of the most spectacular catches ever witnessed.
Throwing: We’d all love to see Ohtani making deep throws to third from the warning track, or some such thing. It would be a spectacle, no doubt. But Mays’ throwing was otherworldly. To hear teammates and opponents talk, nobody threw with more velocity or accuracy.
Intangibles: Ohtani adds a sixth tool, because he’s also a historically great pitcher, for heaven’s sake. (His ERA at the moment is 0.82.) But Mays adds two: His leadership — a veritable second manager on the field as he guided teammates into proper position — and his flair, as a showman perhaps unmatched among all the greats through history. Ohtani is unerringly quiet, polite and deferential, to his credit as a gentleman. Mays was looking to knock down the doors, with joyous belligerence. The impressions were indelible.
To suggest there’s some sort of monotony to Ohtani’s talent would be a monumental mistake. In the words of ex-Giant outfielder Michael Conforto, who spent last season with the Dodgers, “You don’t want to miss Shohei’s at-bats. You want to be in the dugout. You want to see it in person. That’s kind of what it is being his teammate. You want to be there.”
Then there was Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman, himself a hitter of wondrous talent, trying to make sense of Ohtani’s batting during Game 3 of last year’s World Series. As the game pulsated into extra innings, “our starting pitcher,” Freeman said, “got on base nine times tonight.”
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It becomes apparent that there’s no need to choose between Ohtani and Mays, merely to discern. Lucky are those of us who watched them both.
Hang with him
• No change in our preseason optimism about Giants manager Tony Vitello. He’s a smart guy with presence, an idea of how the game should be played, and a knack for judging people in a crisis. Seems like the players feel he’s a pretty good dude, too, and he’s hardly to blame for a flawed roster that only occasionally makes some noise. No problem here if he’s in for the long haul.
• You look for a familiar face in the third-base coaching box. Whether he’s a stoic old hand (Ron Washington), a borderline comedian (Tommy Lasorda) or a smart-as-hell entertainer who really knows the league (Tim Flannery), you want someone who’s been around. The Giants’ choice, Hector Borg, entered this season without coaching anywhere at the big-league level — and he’s not exactly having a stellar year.
• We heard rumblings last year that despite Patrick Bailey’s special qualities behind the plate, the Giants weren’t that sold on him defensively — especially if he wasn’t going to hit. Too many dropped throws and passed balls (25) over his first three seasons. It will be interesting to see if Cleveland, a first-place team, gives him an extended look.
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• Very discouraging: Talk that the Giants might attempt to trade second baseman Luis Arraez if they’re buried in the standings at the All-Star break. Hey, I don’t care if they’re 0-81. Never trade a genius hitter — there aren’t many left — who happens to be a spirited team leader and a surprisingly capable fielder. He’ll be a gift for the fans as long as he’s here.
• The best prospect in the upcoming draft is UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, and the Giants have an outside shot at landing him with the No. 4 pick. But do they really want another shortstop? Aside from Willy Adames, who has many good years left, they have elite prospects Luis Hernandez and Josuar Gonzalez tearing up the Arizona Complex League (each hitting well over .400) and the promising Jhonny Level drawing raves for his numbers (hitting .323 and slugging .534 in 30 games) at Class A San Jose. Just as intriguing are the trade possibilities.
• The most dynamic 1-2 punch among young pitchers in the majors right now: The Milwaukee Brewers with ex-Giant Kyle Harrison, throwing gems every time out (2.09 ERA) and flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski, who ended his seven-inning masterpiece against San Diego on Wednesday night by striking out Nick Castellanos on pitches clocked at 102, 102 and 103 mph.
Bruce Jenkins writes the 3-Dot Lounge for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jenksurf@gmail.com; Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1