Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Sees Similarities Between Shohei Ohtani and Barry Bonds

Shohei Ohtani is fantastic, however the concern is how fantastic?

The Los Angeles Dodgers designated player is currently on rate to decrease as an all-time fantastic. A three-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP, Ohtani is among the very best presently in the video game. His athleticism and two-way adaptability as both a pitcher and player have actually made him a unique star, and one with enormous capacity.

While Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts was not prepared to straight compare Ohtani to all-time legend Barry Bonds, he did state he thinks that Ohtani can put the very same type of tension on challengers.

“I’m not saying that Ohtani is Barry [Bonds],” Roberts stated, through U.S.A. Today’s Bob Nightengale. “but when I played against Barry, it was like he was always looming. Ohtani is just like that. I can’t imagine the stress it puts on opposing teams knowing that he’s looming. He’s always there. It’s got to be stressful.”

Per Dave Roberts through U.S.A. Today

This is not the very first time Roberts has actually pointed out Ohtani in the very same sentence as Bonds. Before the season started back in February, Roberts compared Ohtani’s skill level to Bonds‘.

“I think as far as the talent Barry was the most talented player I’ve ever played with, and Shohei probably has a chance to be the most talented player ever to play the game of baseball,” Roberts informed SportsNet LA in February. “So I’m eager to get to know him more, to watch him on the day to day. From the short sample from Shohei’s side, very intentional about all of his work. Barry was very intentional about his work. Everything was done with a purpose.”

Per Dave Roberts through U.S.A. Today

For Ohtani to really be compared to Bonds, he’ll need to continue his present trajectory and acquire a minimum of near the all-time statistics that Bonds has actually set up. He presently has 174 profession crowning achievement, 456 RBIs, and 91 taken bases midway through his seventh MLB season.

Ohtani is not always that far behind the rate of Bonds, who had 206 crowning achievement and 631 RBIs as soon as he completed his seventh season. For Ohtani to stay up to date with Bonds, he’d need to have fun with the type of durability that Bonds did, playing 20 MLB seasons.

Even fantastic durability won’t ensure that Ohtani will ever match or come close to Bonds’ achievements as Bonds has both the single-season and profession crowning achievement record, and was a seven-time NL MVP. The finest possibility for Ohtani to be thought about in the class of gamers like Bonds is for the combined worth of his pitching and striking to move him to that level.

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-U.S.A. TODAY Sports

Have you signed up for our YouTube channel? Subscribe and struck that notice bell to keep up to date on all the current Dodgers news, reports, interviews, livestreams, and more!