JotCast | FanGraphs World Series Game 1 Chat

FanGraphs World Series Game 1 Chat

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Mad Joe-Don

9:59

More Ohtani, please!

Dan Szymborski

9:59

It's not just about the magnitude of awesomeness, but the VARIETY of it with things that aren't correlated

(and being an awesome MLB hitter and an awesome MLB pitcher aren't correlated)

Jeremy

10:00

I feel like the closest recent historical comp to Ohtani is Bo Jackson. You have to be just an off-the-charts athlete to do what he's doing, even compared to other off-the-charts athletes.

Dan Szymborski

10:00

If Haydn also invented constitutional government, that would be super impressive. We wouldn't say "Why is that special, Mozart was a better composer."

Alex Sonty

10:00

Was Deion the better two-sport performer?

GoBarves

10:01

I want to see full Ohtani with him playing RF most days. He was a very good OF in NPB!

Roland

10:01

I for one am with guest on this one. Ohtani is great, but there are plenty of great players. Don’t get myopic in devoting so much attention to him.

Joe

10:01

It amazes me that people baseball players can do it. MLB is a huge step up in games played. I don’t think any other sport comes close in terms of gradient between levels (though the NBA has a terrible grind too)

Alex Sonty

10:01

Sports are hard

B’Ryce Hammer

10:01

Ohtani! Ohtani! More Ohtani!

Hugh Duffy

10:01

Freddie Freeman talked in an interview yesterday about how in other years he tried to avoid the World Series, because he was so disappointed... and then would end up watching it anyway because he loves baseball and it's the last baseball of the year.

ChuckNChino

10:01

who was the last two way MLB player? Honest question...

Alex Sonty

10:01

Brian Jordan?

Dan Szymborski

10:02

If you were a very good QB and a very good WR that would be super impressive, even if the very good QB isn't as good as the best QB.

BigDaddeh

10:02

The most exciting thing in baseball ever would be Ohtani in a game 7 in an NL park with no DH. Where you could just bring him in for specific batters and then put him back in the outfield at various points throughout the game

Alex Sonty

10:02

Oh, wait. I read that as two-sport.

Bunk

10:02

Cabrera did something that didn't happen in decades. What Ohtani did hasn't been done in over 100 years and who knows if it will ever be done again.

Dan Szymborski

10:02

I just wanted an excuse to post this.

ChuckNChino

10:02

Bo Jackson was a beast -- especially in TECMO BOWL

Cream

10:03

Brian Jordan is as bad of a broadcaster as he was good at baseball and football.

Guest

10:03

Your Haydn analogy is inapposite: we can objectively measure the total value a player contributes in a way that we cannot measure the "value" that someone contributes to society by writing a symphony or inventing a form of government. And when we *do* measure players' value, we find many players who match or exceed Ohtani's.

Dan Szymborski

10:03

You're assuming that magnitude of value is the only impressive thing

If I develop the ability to magically turn farts into tacos, it's super impressive, even if the value to society is minimal.

10:04

Why are we only allowed to be most impressed by what creates the most wins.

If a pitcher came up and threw a 130 mph fastball but stunk otherwise, we can't still be in awe of the fastball?

Alex Sonty

10:04

Didn't you hear, Dan? The nerds are killing baseball.

Guest

10:05

If anyone awards you a "historic achievement award" for turning farts into tacos, I will quietly resign from humanity.

Asufool

10:05

The converse of turning tacos into farts is not impressive.

Phil

10:05

Your magic tacos would be ruined by your insisting that there's only one possible ingredient list that counts as a taco.

Ryan

10:06

Would you eat a taco that was originally a fart?

Dan Szymborski

10:06

Everything was originally poo.

Do we ahve to go into the circle of life?

Phil

10:06

As someone who's interested in baseball history going back to the nineteenth century, I feel like what Ohtani has done in no way compares to Cabrera or even Trout. It's really hard to think of a comparison. There have been pitchers who could hit for power, but SO had a .372 OBP. However, Haydn was actually pretty shrewd about politics, and Mozart was really really not, so. . .