Press Box: Ohtani plays like Babe Ruth, but way too soon to say he's better

Shohei Ohtani of the Angels watches his solo home run during the third inning of Friday's game against the Mariners in Seattle.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels watches his solo home run during the third inning of Friday's game against the Mariners in Seattle.

Who is better, Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?

No, I'm not trying to stir up a debate. Those are questions have been asked often in the past decade, and I'm still trying to decipher if there is a correct answer.

When it comes to baseball, there is a "Who is the best?" debate as well, and it has often included up to a dozen choices.

But for me, the choice is easy: Babe Ruth. When you look at his offensive numbers, the 714 home runs stand out - when he retired, he had more than twice as many homers as No. 2 on the career list - and the .342 batting average is impressive, not to mention the 2,214 RBI.

Ruth saved baseball from the Black Sox Scandal, won three World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and four more with the New York Yankees.

His power was unprecedented during his playing days, but here's why he's my No. 1. Sure, other players in MLB history have matched, or even surpassed, his power numbers, but he was also one of the best pitchers during the 1910s.

Ruth won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons and won a total of 78 games in his first four full seasons in the big leagues. Had he remained a full-time starting pitcher, Ruth may have won 300 games in his career, but we'll never know, because by the time he was 25 years old, he moved from the pitcher's mound to the outfield, which allowed him to step into the batter's box more often and play on a daily basis.

I have heard numerous baseball historians remark how they "broke the mold" when Babe Ruth was made, and how we'll never see another player like him again.

Not so fast, says Shohei Ohtani.

The Los Angeles Angels' dual-threat superstar is taking the majors by storm this season.

His offensive numbers during the first half of the season rival those of the steroids era in the late 1990s. Entering today's game, Ohtani led the majors with 33 homers, putting him past the halfway mark to become the sixth person in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a single season.

The hype surrounding Ohtani isn't just in the number of homers he has hit. It's more about how hard and how far he hits them. I won't bore you with "exit velocity" and "launch angle" statistics, but it seems like every time Ohtani goes deep, the ball travels more than 400 feet.

These baseballs aren't barely clearing the fence. They're finding the cheap seats, and I mean that quite literally.

Take Ohtani's home run Friday night in Seattle, for example. He took an 89-mph pitch from Marco Gonzales and crushed it to the upper deck in right field at T-Mobile Park. The ball landed at least six rows deep in the upper deck, near a pair of fans who were, at the time, the only spectators in that part of the ballpark.

MLB's Statcast estimated the baseball traveled 463 feet, but it looked more like 563 feet to me. That was a "Ruthian" blast.

Ohtani's offense has been enough to practically lock up the American League MVP award by the All-Star break. But wait, there's more.

He's a starting pitcher, too.

In 13 pitching appearances, Ohtani has a 4-1 record with a 3.49 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 67 innings, not to mention a fastball that reaches 100 mph. Those are pretty good numbers, but they won't earn him a Cy Young Award at season's end.

Here's the thing. Even though he plays in the A.L., Ohtani still bats on the days he pitches, eliminating the need for a designated hitter in the lineup. It's like we're throwing it back to Little League, where often the best hitter on the team is the pitcher.

Ohtani deserves all the acclamation he is receiving, but when I saw Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated write last week that he's better than Ruth, I had to roll my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

Compare the numbers between Ohtani to Ruth all you want, it's completely justified. But to say he's better? Please, we're not there yet.

Ruth played 22 seasons in the majors, while Ohtani is in his fourth in the MLB and hasn't played more than 106 games in a season. I understand everything is up for debate these days, but can't we just enjoy the present without always having to comparing it to the past?

I can't wait to turn on the TV on Monday night and watch Ohtani in the Home Run Derby, because even if he doesn't win, I expect to see a few home runs that will be tape-measure blasts. And if he gets the chance to both pitch and bat in Tuesday's All-Star Game, that would be wonderful and rare sight to see as well.

I want to see Ohtani succeed as much as the next person, but if we're already including him in the "Who's the best?" conversation, then I want no part of it.