Did Shohei Ohtani just play the single greatest baseball game ever?

MIAMI – The Veuve Clicquot had been poured and the commemorative T-shirts handed out. Only then, once there had been time for it all to sink in, could his awestruck teammates fully comprehend the latest demonstration of greatness by Shohei Ohtani.

They marveled not only at his latest milestone, becoming the first player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season. But they spoke with admiration about the way Ohtani reached the 50-50 club — with a single-game performance for the ages.

“That has to be the greatest baseball game of all time,” Gavin Lux said. “It has to be.”

Ohtani singlehandedly pummeled the Miami Marlins on Thursday. He went 6-for-6, slugged three home runs, drove in 10 runs and swiped two bases — in a game that clinched a postseason berth.

“I didn’t even realize he was 6-for-6,” Mookie Betts said. “What we see is like expected. It’s crazy that he lives up to those types of expectations. But that’s also what makes you speechless.”

And had Ohtani not gotten thrown out trying to leg out a triple in his third at-bat, he’d have added his second career cycle, too.

No player in baseball history had hit three homers and stolen multiple bases in a game, until Ohtani did it on Thursday. No player had collected more total bases (17) in a multi-steal game, smashing the previous mark of 11 from the likes of Kirk Gibson and Braggo Roth. No player since at least 1901 had collected at least five hits, hit multiple home runs and stolen multiple bases in the same game.

According to OptaSTATS, no player since 1920 has ever had a 10-RBI day, a six-hit day, a five extra-base hit day, a three-homer day, and a multi-steal day within their career. Ohtani crammed all that production into a single Thursday afternoon during a 20-4 thrashing of the Marlins.

Since RBI became official in 1920, only one MLB player has had, over the course of his entire career (same game or not),

a game with 10+ RBI
a game with 6+ hits
a game with 5+ XBH
a game with 3+ HR
a game with 2+ SB

That one player is Shohei Ohtani. He did all of it today. pic.twitter.com/njXOmwHKnm

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 20, 2024

 

So, how did Ohtani’s masterclass rank with the other greatest individual offensive performances of all-time? With so many worthy contenders, it might depend on the parameters.

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Best 6-for-6 days ever?

Few can speak with more authority on this subject than Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. On May 23, 2002, in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Roberts watched from the Dodgers dugout as teammate Shawn Green slugged four home runs, part of a 6-for-6 day.

“Sorry, Shawn,” Roberts said after Ohtani’s outburst, again from the Dodgers dugout. “But just in totality I don’t know that I’ve seen anything like this.”

Green’s 19 total bases remain an all-time single-game record. Anthony Rendon (April 30, 2017), Edgardo Alfonso (Aug. 30, 1999), Jimmie Foxx (July 10, 1932) and Ty Cobb (May 5, 1925) all enjoyed 6-for-6 games – though with fewer total bases than both Green and Ohtani.

What about by RBIs?

While Ohtani’s 10 RBIs against the Marlins were impressive, a few other players have him beat by this measure. Though not by much.

Mark Whiten hit four home runs and drove in 12 on Sept. 7, 1993. It is one of four games ever with more than 10 RBIs from one player, matching Jim Bottomley’s 6-for-6, 12-RBI game from Sept. 16, 1924. The only other players who drove in more runs (11) in a game than Ohtani did on Thursday are Phil Weintraub (April 30, 1944) and Tony Lazerri (May 24, 1936).

Of course, Ohtani has that group bested in one way. None of those games featured multiple stolen bases.

Best game ever by a designated hitter?

This title, far and away, belongs to Ohtani. Since the American League introduced the DH in 1973, only two players have collected six hits while occupying that spot. The first was Kevin Reimer on Aug. 24, 1993 against Oakland. The second was Ohtani. Despite a job description that calls for total focus on offense, no DH had ever logged double-digit runs batted in or collected more than 15 total bases in a game.

“Take the season out of it – today was probably the single best offensive game I’ve ever seen,” Max Muncy said.

What about all-around games?

If individual dominance is the measure, a few pitching performances could rise to the level of best game ever. Think Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game, Sandy Koufax’s 14-strikeout perfect game, or Max Scherzer’s 17-strikeout no-hitter.

Jim Tobin once threw a complete game on the mound while hitting three home runs at the plate (though he did allow five runs that day). Rick Wise threw a no-hitter on June 23, 1971 – and slugged two home runs himself.

Of course, Ohtani knows something about dominant two-way performances. In a June 27, 2023 start against the White Sox, he struck out 10 while allowing one run in 6 ⅓ innings, all while smacking two home runs and going 3-for-4 at the plate.

But even that performance might pale in comparison to what Ohtani authored during Thursday’s display of dominance.

“I’ve never seen anybody do that even in little leagues,” Lux said. “So it’s crazy that he’s doing that at the highest level.”

(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani ripping a double: Chris Arjoon / Getty Images)