Love to see it

[Izz]

So, this is probably ho hum to most of you fine folk but I'm just about to start my first league since 19 and while having a browse to make sure everything's working correctly (after simming ahead 30 years, deleting history, then simming another 10 before reaching my start point), I came across this fine specimen...

First noticed him when I was looking at previous season results and saw he'd won MVP and was listed as a pitcher. I thought, those pitching stats are okay but not blow my mind amazing, so why did he win MVP? (he also won this universe's version of the Cy Young which I could understand - he led the league in pitching WAR so maybe there's a lack of quality pitching out there at the moment - but MVP?) Then I opened his profile and realized he was a two-way player. And what a two-way player!

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Now back to making sure the league is good to go

[Bluenoser]

Sweet

[Eugene Church]

Is you Izz or is you ain't?

Welcome home, oldtimer... good to see your name again on the Forum.

Very interesting post.

[koohead]

wow. the bat is legit...will be interesting to see if his pitching is sustainable.

[zappa1]

Wow that's like the 1934 season Hank Greenberg had.

[Pelican]

I wonder why we are beginning to see a handful of two-way players IRL, and does this mean that we’ll see more would-be Ohtani's in the future?

I suspect it has always been true that many good athletes both pitch and play the field, at least to start. Way back when I was playing, Little League, high school ball, we might have one or two full-time pitchers, at most. Then there would be the SS who was our best hitter and could also pitch. Or the CF who could throw an inning. As these guys moved on, they tended to settle in as position players. At some point, they gave up pitching. And this is why a large % of MLB position players have pitched in the past.

Less common, in my experience, is the two-way guy who becomes a pitcher. That’s the harder road, for most guys. And now no longer important that they can still hit, with the DH everywhere [grrr]. Unless of course, they have the two-way alternative.

I’m unclear how a young player persuades a coach to let him do both, after high school. It’s not uncommon to have good college position players who occasionally pitch an inning. But once that first pro contract is signed, I would think a decision has to be made. It would take a very understanding system to allow even a gifted athlete to persist in being a two-way player. Progress in one area might be at the expense of development in other areas.

For a long time most of us regarded Babe Ruth as a kind of unicorn. And even the Babe mostly stopped pitching early in his career. [He still occasionally started games with the Yankees, typically late in the season, after clinching….] Now Ohtani has proved that it can be done. Two unicorns?

The 17-year-old 1B who still wants to pitch has an answer for the coach who says he cannot. The 21-year-old pitcher who wants to hit has one possible path. Maybe this is another unforeseen path in the evolution of baseball.

[Izz]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Is you Izz or is you ain't?

Welcome home, oldtimer... good to see your name again on the Forum.

Thanks EC. I've still been lurking, making the odd post in Talk Sports, but haven't been playing so haven't been posting in these parts

Originally Posted by koohead

wow. the bat is legit...will be interesting to see if his pitching is sustainable.

My gut says no - FIP for career so far is right around 4. However, he's only young so maybe he's still got room to improve...

Originally Posted by zappa1

Wow that's like the 1934 season Hank Greenberg had.

Hopefully his next season will be like Greenberg's 1935

Originally Posted by Pelican

does this mean that we’ll see more would-be Ohtani's in the future?

I hope so!

Yeah, Ohtani's a unicorn, no doubt, but hopefully he's the beginning of a herd