Where would you rank Ohtani all time?

[Cloned]

This should be interesting. His peak these few years has been spectacular, but his career is still pretty early and he doesn’t have the compiled numbers yet. We don’t know if he’ll stay healthy or have longevity yet.

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[Fenway]

I have always wondered why the Yankees didn't let Ruth pitch.

 

[Cas]

I have always wondered why the Yankees didn't let Ruth pitch.

The money was in hitting bombs, and they didn't want to risk an injury. Also, Ruth probably wasn't going to remain a top-flight pitcher anyway - even for the era, he was a low-strikeout pitcher. The Yankees would have gotten 150 mediocre innings and lost Ruth's hitting for too many games (and they had plenty of good pitching).

...

Now, Ohtani has been fantastic for two and a half seasons. He doesn't have an argument to rank near the top among all players all-time, at least not yet. He does have a fantastic peak - not an unprecedented one in terms of value, but extremely high. If I had to guess, he'll end his career among the top 75 players of all time, but not the top 25. I could be wrong, but I'd not bet on him getting to the top group (primarily due to injury risk).

 

[Elvis P]

He's played 6 years. It's a ridiculous question.

 

[Dr Pepper]

I think the uniqueness of his versatility, combined with how much he's thrived in both aspects of it, places him in the top 100 already.

Where he ends up when he finally hangs 'em up, too early to say.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

right now? around 100 at best.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Not even the best player on his own team.

 

[frontsfan2005]

The money was in hitting bombs, and they didn't want to risk an injury. Also, Ruth probably wasn't going to remain a top-flight pitcher anyway - even for the era, he was a low-strikeout pitcher. The Yankees would have gotten 150 mediocre innings and lost Ruth's hitting for too many games (and they had plenty of good pitching).

...

Now, Ohtani has been fantastic for two and a half seasons. He doesn't have an argument to rank near the top among all players all-time, at least not yet. He does have a fantastic peak - not an unprecedented one in terms of value, but extremely high. If I had to guess, he'll end his career among the top 75 players of all time, but not the top 25. I could be wrong, but I'd not bet on him getting to the top group (primarily due to injury risk).

I wouldn't say Ruth was a "low-strikeout" pitcher - he finished 3rd in the AL in 1916 at age 21 with 170. He also had a 23-12 record and led the AL with a 1.75 ERA and 9 shutouts. He did drop to 5th in the league in 1917 with 128 at age 22. Even in his rookie season in 1915 at age 20, Ruth was 8th in the AL in strikeouts per 9 innings.

Beginning in 1918, he seemed to transition into an outfielder and pitched less.

His strikeouts did dip as he was playing in the outfield more often. Of course, there was no DH in the 1910's and 20's, had this been an option, perhaps he stays as a pitcher/DH much like Ohtani.