Colin Cowherd: Shohei Ohtani Is Better Than Babe Ruth
Shohei Ohtani lost in the first round of the 2021 Home Run Derby, but he and Juan Soto put on a show in their matchup. Everyone was glued to the television just to see Ohtani mash some dingers like Big Al. Colin Cowherd was not deterred by Ohtani's first-round exit, and on Tuesday declared him better than Babe Ruth.
Cowherd makes a number of arguments in an attempt to prove his point. Ohtani is facing better competition, and what he's doing right now is more impressive than anything Ruth did as a two-way player.
Here's what he had to say:
"Baseball should have a new campaign. Shohei Ohtani — better than Babe... And it's not close." @ColinCowherd explains: pic.twitter.com/k7fn0lxCkz
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 13, 2021
Perhaps more than anything, the specialization going on in MLB right now is the best part of this argument. Relievers all have very specific roles and virtually all throw hard. In Ruth's day, starters threw complete games and very few threw in the above 90 miles per hour. Players are just better now.
It's hard to say anyone is better than Babe Ruth definitively because eras are all different. But it's not hard to conclude Ohtani is a unique, special talent of the sort we haven't seen in a very long time.