1919 Ruth vs 2021 Ohtani

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

These two seasons provide the best comparison based on how they were used both as pitchers and hitters. Ruth was exclusively a hurler until 1918.
He was effectively no longer pitching in 1920. He did both hitting and pitching on a regular basis only in 1919. So how have they done.

Home runs

Ohtani 37 with 60 games to pla
Ruth 29

Stolen Bases

Ohtani 14
Ruth 7

ERA

Ohtani 3.09 with 15 starts
Ruth 2.97 with 15 starts

Batting Average

Ohtani .280
Ruth .322

Opposing pitchers are beginning to walk Ohtani more.
Ruth had over 100 walks in 1919.

There is really no other season comparable to 2021 Ohtani since 1919.

I’m a believer in this kid and feel that it would be a disservice if he is not the MVP this year.

He is truly fun to watch.

While I basically agree with you, Frank, about how exciting Ohtani is, I also feel that a bit more perspective is in order. For example, the fences were typically 450+ feet from home plate back in Ruth's day. There is a book titled, "The Year the Babe Hit 104 Home Runs," which, I believe, is premised on the idea that today's fences would have yielded that many homers to Ruth in 1921 even though the record books only credit him with 59. In fact, we still have good video evidence that the Babe was able to hit a 500+ foot home run in every American League park that year! And of course we know there were years when he out-homered entire teams. As a power hitter, I don't think anyone else compares to Ruth.