How, in the field of animal science, do you classify Shohei Ohtani? Is he the GOAT de tutti GOATS? Is he on a par with Don Vito Corleone?
Or perhaps he’s merely the GOAT of all baseball players?
To be honest, I couldn’t give you an answer without some discussion. Ohtani is in the middle of a superb career, but to hand him the title by acclamation at this juncture of it seems unfair to those who came before him.
It seems as if we’ve been having this discussion often lately, with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tom Brady vying for the title. And I say it’s difficult to really know until all the horses are in. It reminds me of when the late, great managing editor John Moran used to run around the office saying “now they’re all in!” Well, in Ohtani’s case, they’re not all in. We hope he has many stellar years left.
But it does beg the question: How do you know when the title of GOAT gets vested upon a player? Is it the first time he (or she) does something notable? Nobody exclaimed that Jordan was the best ever when he poured in 63 points vs. the Boston Celtics in April 1986. Or when Roger Clemens struck out 20 Seattle Mariners later that same month. They were both in the early stages of remarkable careers – too soon to determine whether they measured up to the all-time icons.
This is my feeling toward Ohtani. Until recently, it was just too soon to put him in such exalted status. Baseball, like all sports, is a cruel and uncompromising game. For those old enough to remember, when Don Mattingly began his career with the Yankees, he was the best hitter on the planet. Then, he got hurt – a back injury that never really healed. He was still a good hitter after that, but not the difference-maker he was before. Today, he’s not even in the Hall of Fame.
The term GOAT first came into usage when Muhammad Ali was still boxing. He earned the title because he used to say he was “the greatest of all time.”
Once the term became prevalent, I came up with 11 athletes off the top of my head who have worn it: Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tom Brady, Connor McDavid, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Pedro Martinez, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Serena Williams, and, now, Ohtani. There are certainly more, including horses, race car drivers, runners, boxers, skiers, skaters, and who knows what else?
Now, they ALL can’t be GOATS. How many GOATs are we allowed to have before the term becomes meaningless?
I can recall slowly becoming aware that Jordan just MAY be the basketball GOAT. Ditto Brady as the GOAT of quarterbacks. And Williams, GOAT of tennis.
I absolutely put their personal numbers up there with team accomplishments and am satisfied that the two of them are legitimate capros. As was Ali.
Nobody else.
But unless Ohtani gets run over by a bus, he will grab the baseball crown away from – in my mind, at least – Willie Mays.
A lot depends on how Ohtani’s career goes from hereon out. How many games is he going to have like last Friday’s, when he hit three homers and struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers? That is astounding!
By the time the horses are all in, it could very well be that Ohtani becomes the greatest athlete ever – though perhaps Jim Thorpe or Usain Bolt might beg to differ. He seems to be, at this juncture, that good.
But, really, does it matter? Why can’t we just appreciate athletes such as Ohtani or Mahomes? Why do we insist on immediately putting ratings on them and asking them to live up to impossible standards like GOAT?
I don’t care how you rate them. I just want to watch them play.
