CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Just when you think you\u2019ve seen everything Shohei Ohtani can do, the Dodgers superstar rewrites the definition of \u201cimpossible\u201d in baseball. The Japanese phenom delivered perhaps the most remarkable individual playoff performance in MLB history on Friday, hitting three monstrous home runs while striking out 10 batters in a single game to send Los Angeles to the World Series.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter Joe Noga put it: \u201cEverything that you\u2019ve ever seen written about this guy and how good he is, it doesn\u2019t do him enough justice after a performance like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The numbers are staggering. Three home runs with exit velocities around 116 mph. A 460-foot blast that nearly cleared Dodger Stadium entirely. Ten strikeouts with \u201cfilthy breaking pitches and 100 mile an hour heaters.\u201d But the statistics barely scratch the surface of what makes Ohtani\u2019s achievement so mind-bending.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll never see somebody who is dominant on both sides the way that he is, I don\u2019t think ever again,\u201d Noga declared during the podcast. \u201cWhat\u2019s impressive is that he\u2019s doing it, and they can\u2019t stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the key element that separates Ohtani from even the game\u2019s greatest two-way players throughout history. He\u2019s not merely competent on both sides of the ball \u2013 he\u2019s elite against specialists whose sole job is to excel at one aspect of baseball.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers are experiencing the Ohtani effect both on and off the field. When he signed his record-shattering $700 million contract, many questioned whether any single player could possibly be worth that much money. The answer, it seems, is a resounding yes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOtani is showing right now that $700 million might have been fair market or at least maybe even underpaying the guy,\u201d Noga observed, noting that the Dodgers have already recouped much of that investment through endorsements and the Japanese market.<\/p>\n
His teammate Mookie Betts perhaps captured Ohtani\u2019s transcendent status best with his NBA comparison: \u201cWe\u2019re the [Chicago] Bulls and he\u2019s Michael Jordan. We\u2019re just following him around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Longtime cleveland.com reporter Paul Hoynes compared watching Ohtani to a sportswriter who once walked out of the press box while covering football legend Red Grange: \u201cThis is too big for me. I can\u2019t write this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question isn\u2019t whether Ohtani is great \u2013 it\u2019s whether he\u2019s potentially the greatest baseball talent ever assembled in one human being. His unprecedented combination of power hitting, elite baserunning, and dominant pitching creates a player that defies comparison.<\/p>\n
Will we ever see another two-way player like him? Hoynes is skeptical: \u201cEven if there is, will they be as good as he is? Will they get the chance that he\u2019s gotten?\u201d<\/p>\n
As baseball fans, we\u2019re witnessing something historic \u2013 a player who can do things we\u2019ve never seen before and may never see again. While the game evolves and new stars emerge, Ohtani\u2019s singular brilliance serves as a reminder that some talents truly are once-in-a-lifetime occurrences.<\/p>\n
In an era where sports hyperbole runs rampant, Shohei Ohtani stands as the rare athlete who lives up to and exceeds every superlative thrown his way.<\/p>\n
Podcast transcript<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I\u2019m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, it was a pretty good weekend. Had a chili cook off that I won. You know, my award winning chili got another trophy but still I didn\u2019t have as good a weekend as Shohei Ohtani had. Ohtani leading the Dodgers back to the World Series with a three home run game and ten strikeout pitching performance. Everything that you\u2019ve ever seen written about this guy and how good he is, it doesn\u2019t do him enough justice after a performance like that. He was struggling. He was 1 for 26 in his previous, you know, at bats in the, in the postseason, you know, look lost at the plate, comes out there and hits a couple of 400 plus foot home runs and strikes out 10 batters in a game where the Dodgers clinch the National League championship. Just what more can you say about Shohei Otani and the effort that he put forth in the playoffs for the Dodgers?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Joe, this guy, I mean, I don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll ever see another player like this guy. I mean, I guess maybe this will, you know, his two way ability to pitch and hit will spark, you know, an outpouring of other two way players. But even if it does, will they be as good as he is? Will they get a chance that he\u2019s gotten? Will Major League Baseball give them a chance to, you know, to really kind of take advantages of not just one part of his game, but all parts of his game? I mean it\u2019s, it\u2019s amazing to even think about it. This is a guy that, what is it, 50 home runs a season? You know, he really didn\u2019t pitch that much this year because he was coming off Tommy John surgery. And then he has a, you know, the postseason game. Of all postseason games, you know, there\u2019s no one that can even come close to this. I mean it\u2019s, I mean it just, you know, it defies description.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. To have two players on your team, one that hits three home runs in a game and one that strikes out 10 batters in a game, to have two different players in the game, that\u2019s something, you know, worth noting. The Dodgers have that in one player and he did it. He\u2019s the first player to do so in a single game in the postseason ever. You know, the home runs were amazing enough. It almost looked like he was hitting him off a tee. The way that, that he launched them out of the ballpark, you know, 460 foot and nearly cleared it out of Dodger Stadium, that\u2019s, that\u2019s impressive in its own right. And then he goes up there and he\u2019s throwing just ridiculous, filthy braking pitches and 100 mile an hour heaters. Yeah. You talk about how impressive it is that he can do, you know, both sides. But what\u2019s impressive is that he\u2019s doing it and, you know, they can\u2019t stop him. They\u2019ve got guys who are geared to, and whose only job it is to hit his pitching, hit pitching like that, and they can\u2019t do it. And then on the other side, they\u2019ve got guys who are geared to pitch to him and try to get him out, and they can\u2019t get him out. I will never, we\u2019ll never see somebody who is dominant on both sides the way that he is, I don\u2019t think ever again.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. What did Mookie Betts say? He goes, we\u2019re the Chicago Bill Bulls and he\u2019s Michael Jordan. We\u2019re just following him around. We\u2019re just along for the ride. And, you know, that\u2019s, that\u2019s pretty much it. I mean, the exit velocity on his first two home runs, I think all three home runs was about 116 miles an hour. He hit one, the second home run out of the ballpark, over the roof at the pavilion at Dodger Stadium. And the third one was the run of the litter. I think ed only went 424ft. I mean, that\u2019s it. What he does on the field is, is incredible. It\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s really, you know, you, you run out of words to say. You know, I remember reading a story about this college football writer that would, that, that watched Red Grange, this going way, way back. You know, Red Grange played for Illinois, and Red Grange was doing all sorts of things on the field. And, and finally the writer got up and goes, this is too big for me. I can\u2019t write this. And he left the press box. And I think that\u2019s pretty much sums up what Ohtani does. You know, he has the ability to do that almost every, in every game he plays.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, the, the Galloping Ghost. Red Grange. I like it. The fallback, I guess. Yeah. It\u2019s almost like we\u2019re sitting here talking in all this hyperbole and all this hype and everything, but when you see somebody who lives up to it when, when Shohei Ohtani signed a, a groundbreaking, you know, 700 million dollar contract, what, two years ago, and, and everybody, oh, this is ridiculous. These, these salaries are out of control. And this is, you know, there were all these Deferrals. And, you know, what\u2019s this mean for baseball? At the time, $700 million sounded like a lot to be spending on one player. Shohei Otani is showing right now that $700 million might have been, you know, fair market or at least maybe even underpaying the guy. The Dodgers made back the, the balance of that contract just within the first two years of him after signing it in endorsements and, you know, dollars from the Japanese market, you know, that came into them. They\u2019re, they\u2019re able to do this because of the star power that he generates, but he\u2019s able to generate that star power by being just the absolute best at everything that he\u2019s doing. It\u2019s kind of ridiculous.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. Joe, I remember the first time I saw Ohtani. It was in spring training with the Angels. The Indians at that time were in, in Tempe, Arizona, where the Angels home. And Corey Kluber at the, at the height of his powers, you know, was. Was pitching a game. And, and he made Ohtani look foolish. I mean, he, he struck him out a couple times. And, and you\u2019re sitting there thinking, okay, you know, what, what\u2019s the, what\u2019s the big deal about this guy? But the next time they faced each other in, in, in spring training, I think Ohtani hit two home runs against them. So, you know, this is, this is a, this is a, this is the real deal here. I mean, and you saw that, you know, right away that this guy could adjust, that he, that he could adjust to big league pitching and that, you know, he wasn\u2019t going to be intimidated. So, you know, that, that was, you know, that was a sign to me that, you know, we have, we\u2019ve just seen the, you know, the, the, the tip of the iceberg with this guy, right?<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: And the physical gifts and the physical tools are there as well. You\u2019re talking about a guy just coming off of Tommy John surgery. They did, they did take it slowly with him. Obviously. You got to be careful, but he\u2019s already a guy who, at 6 foot 3, 210 pounds, can, can run the bases, you know, with the best of them in the major, can steal bases. He has, he\u2019s had a, what, a 50, 50 season in stolen bases and home runs. And it\u2019s the fact that, you know, if he played any other position beside pitcher, he\u2019d do that well as well. You know, you could put him in the outfield, and he probably have the best arm in right field in major league baseball. So, you know, we\u2019ve seen all Sorts of just amazing things. And it\u2019s, it\u2019s kind of fun to watch from, from sort of this perspective and you can understand why, you know, Major League Baseball, having Ohtani and the Dodgers in the World Series again this year, I mean, this is, this is big bucks for the, the league to have their best players on the biggest stage once again. And now we get to talk about who\u2019s going to face Ohtani and the, the Dodgers in, in the, the Fall Classic. We get, we get the, the, the two best words in baseball, really, in any sport, but particularly in baseball, because the games are so amazing. Game seven, the two best words in baseball. And this time around, the Guardians fans will have a little bit more of a rooting interest as the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS have Shane Bieber on the mound going against the Seattle Mariners. This has been a really fun series to watch, both teams going back and forth. A really evenly matched series. You know, what have you seen just in the games over the weekend with Seattle getting the win and taking a three games to two lead, and then the Blue Jays last night with their backs against the wall coming out and doing what they did to even the series in force of game seven.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: This is really, really, really a competitive series to between two evenly matched teams. The NLCS was kind of a runaway, Joe, between Milwaukee and the Dodgers. But this is, you know, this is, it doesn\u2019t get any better when you go to a game seven and you know, just, you know, this is, this is, you know, this is what you dream about, I guess, as you, if you\u2019re a player, you know, and you want to get to game seven, you want to be there with, when everything is on the line and you know, every, every play you make, every swing you make, every pitch you make, you know, there\u2019s an added emphasis to it. Just, you know, really a great environment. And you know, you love the way the, the, the Blue Jays bounced back last night. I mean, you know, Guerrero\u2019s just having a, an unbelievable series. But Naylor, Josh Naylor answered. He hit a home run. He\u2019s having a great series. And then our buddy Ernie Clement. Yeah, Ernie Clement just doesn\u2019t stop hitting. Joey had two, two more hits. Yes. Last night he\u2019s hitting.447. Jimenez is playing well, just, just really a great series. And now, you know, we get to see Shane Bieber on the mound for game seven, uh, tonight. And Joe, when, when Bieber started this season, you know, and the Guardians, you know, when he started his rehab this season, do you ever think he imagined being on. On the mound in Game seven with a chance to go to the World Series and not be with the Indy of the Guardians.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, no, I. In here, I can\u2019t put my. Myself in his shoes and sort of imagine what he was picturing. But I think from the Guardians perspective, I think maybe there was a strong possibility that Shane Bieber would be pitching for a contender at some point in October, whether it was the Guardians or another team. But Game 7 of the ALCS, certainly a long road for him to get to. We sort of saw the backstory of all of that all through the season as we kept giving updates on his progress and his setbacks and everything that he had to go through. I think to get Shane Bieber to this point was something that all interested parties are happy to see, even the Guardians, because, you know, they got a return on that investment in Cal Stefan. There\u2019s a good prospect and a good potential starter waiting in the wing some at some point down the line for Cleveland. And. And you just knew that Shane Bieber was going to pitch himself into a position like this where now as a free agent after the season, he\u2019s going to be able to command, you know, pretty much top market dollar there and, and choose where he wants to go, whether it\u2019s to stay in Toronto or to move on. So hopefully for Shane Bieber, he gets to go out there and, you know, put his best foot forward in that regard. You know, you sort of touched on a few of them. But, you know, just what have you thought of the Guardians, the. The ex Guardians players that have performed in this series? I think Naylor\u2019s done pretty well for himself as well.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Naylor\u2019s hitting.341. He\u2019s got two home runs in the series. You know, Nathan Lukes from Toronto, former Guardians farm hand that we really never got to see in the big league level, but he was traded to Tampa Bay for Brandon Guyer. This guy had two hits last night, Joe. He\u2019s hitting.343. I mean, and then, you know, Jimenez has done a good job. 243. He\u2019s hit a couple home runs, big home runs when they needed it. Miles Straw has gotten in there and played some good defense. Just. Yeah, Cleveland has been well represented in this. In this alcs.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, just. Just not representing Cleveland. And that\u2019s sort of the problem. And, you know, we\u2019ll. We\u2019ll see how that moves forward. All right. I want to shift our focus here to the ongoing managerial searches in Major League Baseball. There are a few of them out there. Hoinse, you wrote about over the last week or so the potential of the Guardian\u2019s executive vice president, Matt Foreman interviewing in Colorado for their GM job. What\u2019s the latest on any of that and if that\u2019s going to impact Colorado\u2019s search for a manager and how that could line up with Cleveland?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, I mean, they had, you know, they fired their, their, you know, former, you know, director of baseball operations at the end of the season. You know, the Rockies had the worst record in the big leagues. They haven\u2019t had a winning season since 2018. Foreman, Matt Foreman with, you know, in the Guardians front office is interviewed for that job. If and if he gets it, you know, it would be his pick, from what I\u2019ve read, at least from what I understand, you know, to pick his own manager. You know, Warren Shafer is the interim manager right now, replaced Buddy Black during the season. So, you know, interesting situation there and it should be decided this week. Joe, that\u2019s what it sounds like. There\u2019s, there\u2019s, I think Foreman is one of three finalists and we, at least Iraqis, I think, would like to get this done by the end of the week or in the near future, at least before get, get things settled before the GM meetings in November.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, that would be ideal to have. You know, maybe a lot of the managerial searchers are probably thinking along that same line to get guys in place before those GM meetings. So we might see some movement here in the next week or so, depending on how many contenders there are associated with the Dodgers and Blue Jays staffs or Mariner staffs as well. The one managerial spot that we have heard is getting close to being finalized, could be announced soon would be the Giants, who are close to naming a University of Tennessee coach, Tony Vitello, as their, their manager. According to a bunch of reports that we saw over the weekend. That was a spot that Craig Alburnez, you know, was, was maybe rumored for, would have been a good fit for because of his experience with the ball club. But, you know, perhaps Alberto winds up in Colorado if Foreman winds up there still, what do you put the chances that Craig Albernas could wind up as a manager somewhere in this hiring cycle before the start of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Just based on the interest he drew last year from the White Sox and Marlins? Joe, I think there\u2019s a good chance, you know, it\u2019s up to Alby if he wants to go. You know, I think that was the case last year, probably is the case again this year. But you Know, I\u2019m thinking, what about the Twins? That\u2019s kind of an interesting situation. You know, you\u2019ve got some Cleveland connections in that front office. That would be, that would be interesting. You know, I know a bunch of people have already interviewed there. I don\u2019t know if Alby has. But yeah, I would think his chances with what, at least seven, seven or eight, you know, teams looking for managers. I guess seven now you know that he would definitely draw some consideration.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Right. Texas named Skip Schumacher their, their manager. So that takes them out of the, out of the picture. But yeah, I, the, the Twins is an intriguing one. You know, we learned about that during the uh, the later part of and of the postseason run there for the Guardians. And, and we immediately thought to ourselves, huh, you know, it\u2019d be kind of awkward and weird to look across the diamond 13 times a year to see Alby in the dugout over there. But yeah, I, I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s interviewed there. I don\u2019t know what the fit would be like. And, and I\u2019ve heard that there are internal candidates possibly that, that are, are, you know, high on their list as well. But you know, it would be, it turns it into the, the AL Central. You, you know, have, you have Q in, in Kansas City Macataro and then you would have Alby. Both guys would be associated at some point with Cleveland in their, in their past. So could be fun to have, uh, have that. But uh, who knows? Uh, all we know right now is that uh, the closer we get to those GM meetings, uh, the, the more likely some of these managerial spots are going to be filled. I still think, you know, Baltimore might be a good fit for, for Alby if there were any interest on, on their part there just based on his sort of east coast. And you know, the, the Nationals as well, they have an opening over there in Washington D.C. so definitely stuff to keep an eye on. Finally, Hoinse, anything. Have we heard anything, any movement on the Luis Ortiz Emmanuel Classe investigation? I know there was a change in the status of both of those players recently.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, just a bit of an update. There\u2019s no breaking news but you know, during the season while starting in July, both of them were put on non disciplinary paid leave based on an agreement by Major League Baseball and the Players Association. But the end of the regular season, you know, they are players, they are no longer getting paid because players, all players only get paid, you know, from the start of the season to the end of the regular season. So now you know that, so that designation has been taken away from Ortiz and Class A and now they\u2019re simply on the restricted list. Restricted list means they are not counted on the 40 man roster. And in their case, their particular case, they cannot be traded.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Right. So it\u2019s more of like an extension of that limbo state for. Right, for these guys. It\u2019s. They. And particularly for Ortiz, who\u2019s not under contract right now. You know, Class A has a year on his contract, plus option years that have buyout clauses in them. They\u2019re still remaining. But Ortiz was just working on a, you know, the major league contract, which is a year to year thing. He still had several years of team control remaining, but right now he\u2019s sort of like a guy without, he\u2019s a, he\u2019s a man without a country, basically.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And they, you know, they, they were denied the permission to play in the winter league in their native Dominican Republic. So I\u2019m not sure what those guys are doing. So they\u2019re. They, both of them are in limbo, Joe. That\u2019s a good way to put it.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. So that\u2019s the latest that we\u2019ve sort of ascertained for Class A and Ortiz. We will be back the remainder of this week as we follow along the ALCS and get ready for the World Series and maybe some, some surprises along the way. Hoynsia is going to wrap up today\u2019s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We\u2019ll check in with you on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Good deal, Joe.<\/p>\n
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