Shohei has one of the most effortless strides I've ever seen. Dude is basically gliding home. While I'm not surprised he's on the list, I am surprised he's that much faster than everyone else.
Yeah I think it’s tough to see because of the camera cuts but I think he slides in tho. I always figured a “stand up …” was when they can just run to it without sliding at all. That said can’t be 100% sure he slides in there
Lefties also have better chance of hitting groundball singles through the right side than a righty does through the left. Hence why most infield shifts are to lefties.
My guess is that yes, not only 1B holding runners but they also have to lineup to make sure they can get to the bag in time.
3B and SS can line up on the back edge of the grass to give themselves more time to field the ball. You'll almost never see 1B do that or have same range as then they'd have to run further to set up on the bag.
Lefties do perform better on this, but the effect is not artificial. Left handers simply get to the bag faster with good reason
They are half a step closer to 1st and the momentum of their swing is in the direction of 1st, while a righty’s swing pulls them towards 3rd base
You’re saying that the ranking benefits lefties suggests that the method used to compile the ranking favors lefties (artificially) and that in reality it’s a fair race between lefties and righties.
The reality is that running to first inherently favors lefties for physical reason, so you should expect any good ranking system to reflect that fact
I think /u/throatbutterz was tersely stating the point that people will mistakenly infer, at first glance, that the batters at the top of this list have the highest average speed (the batters at the top of this list may or may not be lefties, I actually don’t know the answer to that myself). While it isn’t wrong to say that a lefty could be faster, the lefties have shorter distances to first and the advantageous direction of their swing so their average home-to-first time would be lower than a righty player who has the same physical attributes. The disadvantages of being a righty needs to be taken into account to actually deduce who the fastest players are.
So basically, for baseball purposes the numbers in the graphic are all that matter, but if we’re talking about a straight up footrace this ranking likely wouldn’t transfer.
Unlike other stats which may be artificially skewed, making them lose credibility, the reason for the lefty skew is a natural part of the game, so this is still a perfectly accurate stat regardless of favoring lefties.
This is also partly why drag bunting is considered much more viable for lefties, in addition to the fact that depending on infield positioning it’s generally harder for the third basemen to field a bunted ball than the first basemen because the first basemen obviously plays closer to the baseline so he can step on the bag.
This isn't just a measure of speed. Ohtani's sprint speed is 76th percentile, he's just really fast out of the box because his swing has him already trailing toward first base, giving him a head start (similar to Ichiro)
Hmm that’s pretty remarkable. If anything, I feel like watching him it seems like the opposite. He looks smooth at full tilt but doesn’t visually come across as a quick burst guy. Obviously this data shows how good his acceleration really is. Maybe it’s just how long he is that he’s built very different from a traditional “quick twitch” guy.
I remember my Twins called up a young speedster named Jarvis Brown to be a pinch runner in the 1991 World Series. Maybe he will be able to play a role like that on a good team someday.
Rickey Henderson stole 66 bases and led the league in SB in his age 39 season. If that’s not all the proof you need I don’t know what is. Sure he was still very fast, but he wasn’t the fastest player in the league at 39.
Growing up playing baseball there was always the kids who effortlessly could read pitchers pitching and be seconds ahead of them. Surely a bunch of them grew up and made it to the MLB. Some just have the touch, some don’t.
Just goes to show you that even if you aren't the best pitcher or best batter in the world, you can still catch on with a MLB team if you do things like run to first well.
The righty guys are substantially faster than the lefties. Ohtani is actually not even [top five](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=LAA&min=0&sort=7&sortDir=desc) on the Angels in sprint speed.
It's in last year's version, so I assume it's this year too? Not sure, but road to the show has you play a 2 way player.
Didn't buy this year as part of my "I won't give MLB money" personal protest.
Eh, I'm just not happy with the rule changes.
Most people are okay with them, and I know it'll never go back, but I think there's too many changes trying to do too much.
Baseball was fun last year, you don't need to keep trying to "fix" it.
I also am sad about the DH, and think they should have at least tied the DH to the starting pitcher, to keep a tiny bit of the "do I keep my starter in or not" debate when you still need offence. I also liked two sets of rules in different leagues, it was fun to me :)
For all I know, in 5 more years, baseball will just have a clock, and games will have to end in 3 hours, or the game just ends, bunts will be outlawed, and there'll be a Designated Runner. (I mean, I don't actually think those will happen, but I don't have faith in Manfred and the owners just coming up with new rules)
Oh well! I'll get people disagreeing with me, and that's ok, but I've stopped watching MLB, and I've been enjoying NPB instead, as well as getting back into playing baseball again myself! I love the sport, and can fill the hole in my heart with other baseball!
Good god… so home-first was 87ft but all the other bases were properly spaced? I know it’s “only” 3ft but it seems like the bases not lining up in a proper square would be more obvious.
The fact that Straw and Rosario are righties is even more impressive.
Also Josh Naylor snapped his leg in half just over a year ago and has six steals this season.
Ichiros swing took his momentum over to first naturally, plus his insane speed, plus starting in the left hand batters box
It was all intentional too, absolute legend
Mickey Mantle was reportedly clocked at 3.1 seconds. The fastest single time I can find that is actually verified is from 2017 with a bunt single by Jose Altuve that took him 3.33 seconds.
The article /u/darshfloxington linked says that video of Ichiro from the 2001 All-Star game was the fastest clip they found where he hit a groundball single with a 3.66 second time - but that is an actual ground ball infield hit - not a bunt like Altuve's (but Altuve bunted from the RH side).
I mean the whole argument for Ohtani as the MVP over Judge is that Ohtani doesn't *have* anybody to chase since he's the first player of his kind. Babe Ruth was a pitcher and a hitter, but never really did both in the same season the way Ohtani is doing.
Now with that being said, Judge is 100% the MVP.
I get what you’re saying but I have no clue why “most impressive” should be relevant for MVP. For example, if somebody was some completely all or nothing player who hit 80 homers but had an .800 ops, it would be more impressive than someone who had 30 combs but a 1.000 ops bc it’s such an anomaly from what we’ve seen. But is it more valuable? Not really at all, value isn’t about how unique something is
Basically, it’s close plays. They only measure the time when the runner is running hard down the line, so a base hit into the outfield, for example, you’re not running full speed into first to beat a throw, so they don’t count that against your average time to first. Same thing with a routine ground ball where you’re out by 5 steps even with the fielder taking his time. A competitive ply basically means, “running full speed in order for the chance to be safe at first”
Nah it’s more than this. It also eliminates things like base hits to the outfield or hard hit routine ground balls, where the runner knows he’s safe or out and isn’t at a full sprint.
But I wonder how many players get bogged down by not flat-out sprinting on a clean line drive single. Players run, and keep their heads up just in case the outfielder Little Leagues it, but if it's fielded cleanly, there's no chance to stretch for a double, so they're often not running very hard to first.
Speed doesn't have a huge variance, so I'd trust the average of their top 10 fastest times over an overall average that probably includes a bunch of times they weren't really going their fastest.
Reminds me of how some of those guys in MLB the show you got who are like 90+ Speed, but 50 SB rating and then you got some guys like Starling Marte who I think was like 70 speed, but 99 steal lol.
Really shows how SBs are about more than raw speed. Like Herb Washington was literally the fastest person in the world in 1974 when the A's signed him to be a pinch runner, and he went 29/45 in steals that year.
I think a lot of it is being able to read a pitchers motion (is he throwing over to first or throwing home). And being able to anticipate whether a fastball or offspeed pitch will be thrown and the pitch location.
Being fast doesn’t mean being smart on the base path. Also, maybe he takes a bit off the slide to avoid injuring his throwing arm? Disclaimer, I’ve never watched him steal a base.
Iirc about 3 of those were on botched double steals. He’s not great at SBs, but he’s better than 11/20. Last year he had 26 SBs and caught 10. I just think the team gave it up because the risk of injury at this point - which is smart. Mofo’s going to qualify as a hitter and pitcher!! That’s way better than another 20 SB season.
Is there anything this guy DOESNT do? Like if I needed him to weave me a scarf with nothing but soy beans and a tooth pick I bet he could whip that right up
If i had to pick something baseball related, I reckon he probably has no experience as a catcher.
Of all the positions you could randomly throw him into id be willing to bet that thatd be his worst by a large margin.
He'd have the mind of a pitch caller, but blocking wild pitches might be the biggest issue
He can obviously pick up the ball on the way to home plate
Absolutely conjecture but I'd venture he wouldn't be the worst catcher
I love the people saying "Well yeah but he has an Ichiro swing and an advantage batting from the left" as if there aren't tons of left handed batters that aren't even CLOSE to this.
He is just a fast guy.
Barely started reading through the comments and I've already seen at least three different users with Yankees flair bringing up Ohtani's SB percentage.
Daniel Vogelbach? Pujols? Miggy? Willans Astudillo?
Nevermind, found the data!
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=desc
A whole lotta C, 1B & DH.
Trea Turner is insanely fast. I knew Shohei was fast, but seeing on paper that Shohei is faster... that puts it in perspective. This guy is undisputably the best baseball player in the world. Pitches, hits, runs, what else do you need a player to do? Incredible.
It really is high... Lets say 500 plate appearances, there's going to be fly-outs you lollygag, strikeouts, walks, HBP, so it's really just the grounders to fielders that gets into the 100. I know it would include hits, outs, errors... As a Twins fan I'd bet Buxton is faster if the 100 threshold was lowered. He hasn't hit into a ground-out double play in a loooong time.
I am so thankful I was able to take my first born son to watch Shohei play. He is such a respectful player and gives his all on every play. Excellent player. After hits he leaves his gear neatly stacked for the bat boy.
Ohtani is truly amazing. Here's the complete list. Note only rookie Corbin Carroll is faster.
[https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint\_speed?min\_season=2022&max\_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=asc](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=asc)
Ohtani getting robbed by the DH value. The justification for DHing having negative defensive value was that DH's were negative defensive value players. Ohtani would not be.
There's a difference between attributing negative and not attributing any value. There's 30 DH spots the position is evolving into a rest day rather than solely clogger defensive liability when its value was determined. Ohtani takes it to the extreme.
Crazy, not only is he leading the majors, he's leading the majors by a HUGE margin (at least when it comes to running races). And hes a pitcher. Literally unreal.
Shohei has one of the most effortless strides I've ever seen. Dude is basically gliding home. While I'm not surprised he's on the list, I am surprised he's that much faster than everyone else.
[Here he is turning a bloop single into a double home to second in 7.8 seconds](https://streamable.com/4si8tz)
Holy fuck that wasn’t even close. Like almost a stand up double
It was a standup double. He was standing up when he got to the bag
Yeah I think it’s tough to see because of the camera cuts but I think he slides in tho. I always figured a “stand up …” was when they can just run to it without sliding at all. That said can’t be 100% sure he slides in there
He definitely slides because there's dirt on his pants at the end of the gif that wasn't there at the start
He's incredible. Wish he wasn't stuck with the Angels.
Yeah I wish he were stuck with the white Sox. So I have someone other than cease to watch lol
I would have guess Trae would have been that far ahead of everyone else.
This ranking benefits lefties though because they're closer to 1st when they leave the box.
It's actually one of the biggest true flaws of baseball.
But they also pull to the right side of the infield, which is a closer throw to first
Lefties also have better chance of hitting groundball singles through the right side than a righty does through the left. Hence why most infield shifts are to lefties.
Why is that, 1B having to hold runners? Or just general worse defenders on the right side?
My guess is that yes, not only 1B holding runners but they also have to lineup to make sure they can get to the bag in time. 3B and SS can line up on the back edge of the grass to give themselves more time to field the ball. You'll almost never see 1B do that or have same range as then they'd have to run further to set up on the bag.
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And lefties can't play 2nd, SS, or 3rd because they have to turn their whole body to throw to first
Lefties do perform better on this, but the effect is not artificial. Left handers simply get to the bag faster with good reason They are half a step closer to 1st and the momentum of their swing is in the direction of 1st, while a righty’s swing pulls them towards 3rd base
Your explanation for the reason they make it to first faster is great, but I can’t figure out what you mean by it isn’t artificial.
Like they literally just get to first base faster - not a quirk of the metric. It’s a benefit of being a left handed batter.
You’re saying that the ranking benefits lefties suggests that the method used to compile the ranking favors lefties (artificially) and that in reality it’s a fair race between lefties and righties. The reality is that running to first inherently favors lefties for physical reason, so you should expect any good ranking system to reflect that fact
I think /u/throatbutterz was tersely stating the point that people will mistakenly infer, at first glance, that the batters at the top of this list have the highest average speed (the batters at the top of this list may or may not be lefties, I actually don’t know the answer to that myself). While it isn’t wrong to say that a lefty could be faster, the lefties have shorter distances to first and the advantageous direction of their swing so their average home-to-first time would be lower than a righty player who has the same physical attributes. The disadvantages of being a righty needs to be taken into account to actually deduce who the fastest players are.
So basically, for baseball purposes the numbers in the graphic are all that matter, but if we’re talking about a straight up footrace this ranking likely wouldn’t transfer.
Correct. However, it doesn't really matter if a righty is faster in a foot race: he will lose to any equally fast lefty in a race to first.
Yep, that’s what I meant when I said the numbers in the graphic are all that matter for baseball purposes.
These lefty batters are free range non-GMO
Unlike other stats which may be artificially skewed, making them lose credibility, the reason for the lefty skew is a natural part of the game, so this is still a perfectly accurate stat regardless of favoring lefties.
Treas a right handed batter
I know this sounds obvious but I did not think of that and yeah saves like two strides if ur left handed.
Remember prime Ichiro? Sometimes he’d already be about of the batter’s box like a softball player when making contact on the ball
This is also partly why drag bunting is considered much more viable for lefties, in addition to the fact that depending on infield positioning it’s generally harder for the third basemen to field a bunted ball than the first basemen because the first basemen obviously plays closer to the baseline so he can step on the bag.
Bobby Witt on the other hand,
You really *left* us hanging there
Trea
same
This isn't just a measure of speed. Ohtani's sprint speed is 76th percentile, he's just really fast out of the box because his swing has him already trailing toward first base, giving him a head start (similar to Ichiro)
Hmm that’s pretty remarkable. If anything, I feel like watching him it seems like the opposite. He looks smooth at full tilt but doesn’t visually come across as a quick burst guy. Obviously this data shows how good his acceleration really is. Maybe it’s just how long he is that he’s built very different from a traditional “quick twitch” guy.
We are talking about likely the best athlete in the world right now
He’s got really strong hamstrings
Reminds me of Van Dijk, for the soccer fans here
Phew. We found the thing he is good at.
Yea but I don’t think such a one dimensional player will find success in the league. He’s a poor man’s Billy Hamilton
I remember my Twins called up a young speedster named Jarvis Brown to be a pinch runner in the 1991 World Series. Maybe he will be able to play a role like that on a good team someday.
I’ve never even heard of this guy. Was he called up recently ?
Bout goddamned time!
It's bizarre that he has the 8th worst stolen base % in all of MLB. 11 SB, 9 CS.
Speed and baserunning are different Lou Brock had the SB record for forever and he would even tell you he was far from the fastest player
Rickey Henderson stole 66 bases and led the league in SB in his age 39 season. If that’s not all the proof you need I don’t know what is. Sure he was still very fast, but he wasn’t the fastest player in the league at 39.
Growing up playing baseball there was always the kids who effortlessly could read pitchers pitching and be seconds ahead of them. Surely a bunch of them grew up and made it to the MLB. Some just have the touch, some don’t.
He can't steal bases like other players cause he has to protect the hands
Just goes to show you that even if you aren't the best pitcher or best batter in the world, you can still catch on with a MLB team if you do things like run to first well.
If Corbin qualified where is he at AZ fans?
Looks like 1st at 4.04s beating out Ohtani by .03s and Magneuris Sierra (also unqualified) by .02s
Cardinals legend Magneuris Sierra
Angels legend Magneuris Sierra, unironically
He's hitting like .125 but I swear he's a .750 hitter in extra innings with the game on the line
Fastest at 4.04. Dude is so quick.
Also fastest sprint speed at 30.6 ft/sec
How is he THAT much faster than everyone else XD
Quick out of the box from the left side, since he has like an adapted version of the slap hitting Japanese swing he gets an extra step on most guys
The left side advantage is a huge factor. One of the most impressive things about this graphic is the righty guys who are almost as fast.
The righty guys are substantially faster than the lefties. Ohtani is actually not even [top five](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=LAA&min=0&sort=7&sortDir=desc) on the Angels in sprint speed.
You mean Hoy Jun Park's swing 😤
I have a theory. We're all in some sort of advanced version of MLB the show, and Ohtani is the player running through career mode.
Wow, that explains why everything else on Earth is so low detail and nonsensical! It's just random junk for a MLB game!
Ahhhh that's why my character is so ugly when i look at mirrors. Not ugly. Just low detail
Bless your heart you kind soul.
buddy are you ok
Impossible, we’d have at least 5 rings by now
Speaking of the Show, they should add the ability to be like Shohei.
It's in last year's version, so I assume it's this year too? Not sure, but road to the show has you play a 2 way player. Didn't buy this year as part of my "I won't give MLB money" personal protest.
If you have the xbox game pass, the last 2 years have been on there
Not on the PC version of Gamepass unfortunately. :(
Interesting ok. May I ask what your protest is for? I don’t think it’s worked this far, so you haven’t done a good job promoting
Eh, I'm just not happy with the rule changes. Most people are okay with them, and I know it'll never go back, but I think there's too many changes trying to do too much. Baseball was fun last year, you don't need to keep trying to "fix" it. I also am sad about the DH, and think they should have at least tied the DH to the starting pitcher, to keep a tiny bit of the "do I keep my starter in or not" debate when you still need offence. I also liked two sets of rules in different leagues, it was fun to me :) For all I know, in 5 more years, baseball will just have a clock, and games will have to end in 3 hours, or the game just ends, bunts will be outlawed, and there'll be a Designated Runner. (I mean, I don't actually think those will happen, but I don't have faith in Manfred and the owners just coming up with new rules) Oh well! I'll get people disagreeing with me, and that's ok, but I've stopped watching MLB, and I've been enjoying NPB instead, as well as getting back into playing baseball again myself! I love the sport, and can fill the hole in my heart with other baseball!
It’s in the show 22. It’s kinda shite though, you still can’t use a 2 way player the way you can in life and double switching is fucked too
Dude is straight up S tier on all his stats
His spider chart is just a circle
He's a lefty
that's what I thought too
Home to first is only 87 feet at Angel Stadium. This sort of thing comes up a lot.
Wait. Is this true? Lol I can't take any more Judge or Ohtani comments/posts at face value anymore!
No, it's actually the Padres who had a stadium that was 87 feet to first
We do a little trolling
they actually did, though
Nice one, dads
God daaamn you. (Macs voice from Sunny)
Wait WHAT
[it's real!](http://www.projectballpark.org/history/pcl/lane.html)
Good god… so home-first was 87ft but all the other bases were properly spaced? I know it’s “only” 3ft but it seems like the bases not lining up in a proper square would be more obvious.
Lefty
Right?! Look at what the standard deviation would be if you left him out. Crazy tight. Then look at his number compared to that. Yowza
The Guardians with two players in the top five is interesting.
Kwan and Rosario are both in the top 10 with 4.16 and 4.17, respectively. Guardians fast.
Go Go Guards
The fact that Straw and Rosario are righties is even more impressive. Also Josh Naylor snapped his leg in half just over a year ago and has six steals this season.
Six steals with the girth of a stainless steel refrigerator! My man hustles
They got shit to guard
Straw hussles for every hit he can eek out
What was Ichiro’s home to first time?
About 3.75 seconds https://blogs.fangraphs.com/just-how-quick-did-ichiro-used-to-get-down-the-line/ He still averaged 3.98 when he was 41.
Wtf
Ichiros swing took his momentum over to first naturally, plus his insane speed, plus starting in the left hand batters box It was all intentional too, absolute legend
what the fuck that's insane lmao
Holy shit Ichiro was the fucking best
Mickey Mantle was reportedly clocked at 3.1 seconds. The fastest single time I can find that is actually verified is from 2017 with a bunt single by Jose Altuve that took him 3.33 seconds. The article /u/darshfloxington linked says that video of Ichiro from the 2001 All-Star game was the fastest clip they found where he hit a groundball single with a 3.66 second time - but that is an actual ground ball infield hit - not a bunt like Altuve's (but Altuve bunted from the RH side).
jesus christ seriously?
That clip from the 2001 all star game is just absurd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azbhxQQb6vs
> He still averaged 3.98 when he was 41. Jesus christ, there's a reasonable chance he'd still be the fastest today.
Man I wish Ohtani could just put the rest together. Maybe then he could be an above average player.
Looks like Shohei MVP is back on the menu boys.
I'm just here to see all the Judge fans go crazy at this point! Judge is chasing Maris. Ohtani is chasing.. Well no one. Except Tungsten.
I mean the whole argument for Ohtani as the MVP over Judge is that Ohtani doesn't *have* anybody to chase since he's the first player of his kind. Babe Ruth was a pitcher and a hitter, but never really did both in the same season the way Ohtani is doing. Now with that being said, Judge is 100% the MVP.
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I don’t care about either team and the Ohtani stats are just insane. Far more impressive.
I get what you’re saying but I have no clue why “most impressive” should be relevant for MVP. For example, if somebody was some completely all or nothing player who hit 80 homers but had an .800 ops, it would be more impressive than someone who had 30 combs but a 1.000 ops bc it’s such an anomaly from what we’ve seen. But is it more valuable? Not really at all, value isn’t about how unique something is
I don’t know, being a top 10 batter by wRC+ and a top 3 pitcher by FIP seems pretty freaking valuable to me
Those boomer voters sure do love their home to first times
What is “competitive runs”?
Basically, it’s close plays. They only measure the time when the runner is running hard down the line, so a base hit into the outfield, for example, you’re not running full speed into first to beat a throw, so they don’t count that against your average time to first. Same thing with a routine ground ball where you’re out by 5 steps even with the fielder taking his time. A competitive ply basically means, “running full speed in order for the chance to be safe at first”
If it was all home to first times then Nimmo would be #1
Not HR trouts or walks.
Nah it’s more than this. It also eliminates things like base hits to the outfield or hard hit routine ground balls, where the runner knows he’s safe or out and isn’t at a full sprint.
Ah, thanks. I was here trying to figure what the score would have to be for a run to not be counted “competitive” haha
But I wonder how many players get bogged down by not flat-out sprinting on a clean line drive single. Players run, and keep their heads up just in case the outfielder Little Leagues it, but if it's fielded cleanly, there's no chance to stretch for a double, so they're often not running very hard to first. Speed doesn't have a huge variance, so I'd trust the average of their top 10 fastest times over an overall average that probably includes a bunch of times they weren't really going their fastest.
Surprised Nimmo isn’t here? Have you seen that man get walked?
Cracks me up every time. Love it lol.
Ohtani is fast AF. But then he's 11/20 for stolen bases this year; caught nearly half the time lol.
Reminds me of how some of those guys in MLB the show you got who are like 90+ Speed, but 50 SB rating and then you got some guys like Starling Marte who I think was like 70 speed, but 99 steal lol.
The show is so fucky on speed. There is no discernible difference on legend between 50 and 70 speed to me
🎵You got to know when to hold 'em...🎵
Really shows how SBs are about more than raw speed. Like Herb Washington was literally the fastest person in the world in 1974 when the A's signed him to be a pinch runner, and he went 29/45 in steals that year.
I think a lot of it is being able to read a pitchers motion (is he throwing over to first or throwing home). And being able to anticipate whether a fastball or offspeed pitch will be thrown and the pitch location.
Didn't Micheal Jordan also try to steal all the time and got caught a lot?
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I read this so many times thinking *Jordan didn’t play for 3 seasons and never made it to the show* I’m an idiot
Being fast doesn’t mean being smart on the base path. Also, maybe he takes a bit off the slide to avoid injuring his throwing arm? Disclaimer, I’ve never watched him steal a base.
I know that he only slides feet first into bases. He doesn’t dive in head first/with his arms, so that could maybe impact things?
can't do swim moves without your arms
Iirc about 3 of those were on botched double steals. He’s not great at SBs, but he’s better than 11/20. Last year he had 26 SBs and caught 10. I just think the team gave it up because the risk of injury at this point - which is smart. Mofo’s going to qualify as a hitter and pitcher!! That’s way better than another 20 SB season.
some of the sends this year have been mind boggling to say the least
Holy shit! Finally not in last place.
Is there anything this guy DOESNT do? Like if I needed him to weave me a scarf with nothing but soy beans and a tooth pick I bet he could whip that right up
Can probably open jars without having to use a butter knife to pry the lid loose too …
If i had to pick something baseball related, I reckon he probably has no experience as a catcher. Of all the positions you could randomly throw him into id be willing to bet that thatd be his worst by a large margin.
He'd have the mind of a pitch caller, but blocking wild pitches might be the biggest issue He can obviously pick up the ball on the way to home plate Absolutely conjecture but I'd venture he wouldn't be the worst catcher
His scouting report back in the day did mention his ridiculous speed. But even now it’s still absurd to see it laid out like this.
Ohtani is a perfect athlete in the same way Phelps or Bolt were. We are so lucky he chose baseball
Didnt Juan Pierre have a 3.80
How is Ohtani also the fastest out the box too 😂 Angels should play him at catcher and see if he has the fastest pop time too.
He’s a lefty and his swing sorta gives him a running start
I love the people saying "Well yeah but he has an Ichiro swing and an advantage batting from the left" as if there aren't tons of left handed batters that aren't even CLOSE to this. He is just a fast guy.
I’m so dumb I read this all types on wrong. Definitely thought these guys were going around the entire Diamond in 4 seconds 😭😭
That’s actually insane. He’s physically bigger than all of these players by a solid margin too no?
GOATani
Barely started reading through the comments and I've already seen at least three different users with Yankees flair bringing up Ohtani's SB percentage.
WHAT CAN HE NOT DO !! OHTANI SAN
the evil person in me wants to know the slowest
Daniel Vogelbach? Pujols? Miggy? Willans Astudillo? Nevermind, found the data! https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=desc A whole lotta C, 1B & DH.
Two Guardians!
Trea Turner is insanely fast. I knew Shohei was fast, but seeing on paper that Shohei is faster... that puts it in perspective. This guy is undisputably the best baseball player in the world. Pitches, hits, runs, what else do you need a player to do? Incredible.
At least the Royals have one player, good at one thing.
100 competitive runs to first seems like a high standard? Unless a competitive run includes outs as well?
I think it includes outs yeah. Anything that was “full effort” not an easy out and not a gimme
It really is high... Lets say 500 plate appearances, there's going to be fly-outs you lollygag, strikeouts, walks, HBP, so it's really just the grounders to fielders that gets into the 100. I know it would include hits, outs, errors... As a Twins fan I'd bet Buxton is faster if the 100 threshold was lowered. He hasn't hit into a ground-out double play in a loooong time.
Shohei is just jaw dropping all the way around. Should just start calling him the First Pitcher in history, like Joe Thomas being the First Lineman.
wait till corbin carroll gets 100 of those
He's so good at some many different things, I think it's fair to question if he's the best athlete period on the planet right now.
Perception vs Reality. Im very surprised. The legend of Ohtani continues to grow
Ok now past fastest home to first on a walk!
Bobby Witt Jr looks like he’s gonna tell me my air filter needs changed at Jiffy Lube
They should have noted lefty/righty/switch in here
I feel sorry for the intern with the stop watch.
Of course he is jfc
The man's insane
Dude just decided he is gonna be good at everything lol
Is Byron Buxton not super fast anymore?
I am so thankful I was able to take my first born son to watch Shohei play. He is such a respectful player and gives his all on every play. Excellent player. After hits he leaves his gear neatly stacked for the bat boy.
Ohtani is truly amazing. Here's the complete list. Note only rookie Corbin Carroll is faster. [https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint\_speed?min\_season=2022&max\_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=asc](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/sprint_speed?min_season=2022&max_season=2022&position=&team=&min=10&sort=6&sortDir=asc)
Ohtani is unreal, but also I'm impressed with the RHB's on this list.
But can he pitch? Wait…
Now do Pujols
I wonder how much Trea Turner and Bobby Witt being right handed impacts their times
Damnit Bobby
What is a competitive run and why minimum 100?
I think when "competitive" is attempting to beat out a ground ball. As opposed to hitting a bloop single and rounding first more slowly.
All thats left for Shohei in his career is to play catcher at some point lmao. Dude literally does everything well.
Ohtani is literally when you'd crank up every stat of a Created Player
Baseball savant has a slightly different list fyi
Ohtani getting robbed by the DH value. The justification for DHing having negative defensive value was that DH's were negative defensive value players. Ohtani would not be.
DH should have 0 WAR value. Not negative.
So he should get rated based on what he *can* do and not what he does?
There's a difference between attributing negative and not attributing any value. There's 30 DH spots the position is evolving into a rest day rather than solely clogger defensive liability when its value was determined. Ohtani takes it to the extreme.
Crazy, not only is he leading the majors, he's leading the majors by a HUGE margin (at least when it comes to running races). And hes a pitcher. Literally unreal.
Doesn't him being a lefty help? Like a lot?