Will we ever see another MLB player accomplish what Shohei Ohtani did in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series?
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t believe so. In his eyes, that was a unicorn-esque performance.
“I just can’t imagine somebody else doing it,” Manfred said Thursday on FOX Sports’ First Things First.
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Manfred likened Ohtani’s greatness to Reggie Jackson’s three home-run game in Game 6 that helped the Yankees clinch the 1977 World Series. But that was only half of what Ohtani did.
“When you think about Ohtani, the two words that always come to my mind are, ‘two way,'” Manfred said. “You know, some people have hit three home runs in postseason games… but to pitch like he pitched and hit three home runs at the same time, I just can’t imagine somebody else doing it.”
Ohtani began the game by striking out the side in the top of the first inning. He followed that up with a lead-off home run — 446 feet to right field.
Three innings later, he topped that, turning on a pitch low and inside, and smashing it 469 feet and out of Dodgers Stadium. He came off the mound after the sixth inning, finishing with 10 strikeouts and not a run on the board.
For his final act, he hit a third home run to straightaway center field to give Los Angeles a 5-1 lead.
While Manfred is confident there won’t be a single-game performance that ever bests Ohtani, he feels that showing will inspire younger players to strive for similar greatness, to attempt to play both sides of the ball.
“People will be more open to the idea that this is possible,” Manfred said.
Not only is Ohtani inspiring future MLB stars, but he’s possibly at the forefront of creating the next dynasty. It’s been 25 years since the Yankees won back-to-back World Series, now the Dodgers have a chance to do the same.
However, Manfred believes, even if they win, they’d need to do more to solidify themselves as a true dynasty.
“I don’t think two does a dynasty,” he said. “Not for me.”
To be fair, even if the Dodgers won the World Series, they wouldn’t be completing what that 2000 Yankees team — a three-peat of trophies (1998, 1999, 2000).
The Dodgers could get there, though. They’d need to take care of business and beat the Blue Jays in this edition of the Fall Classic. And they’d need many more acts of greatness from Ohtani.
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