Quote:
Originally Posted by rats60
The last season under the old rules, Ohtani attempted 20 steals and was thrown out 9 times. It is amazing how easy it is to steal bases now.
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The year before the rule change, Ohtani was pitching also. Won his first of what will be 3 MVPs as a two way player. In the one year when he wasn't pitching, he was second in the league in stolen bases. Perhaps it is easier to steal bases now, but on a relative basis, he did pretty well when he decided to give it a real go.
I've been doing more research on Ruth's career. He really only had one full season as a two way player -- 1919. And many of his contemporaries were also two way players, like George Sisler. Being a two way player was also fairly common in the Negro Leagues, with stars like Martin Dihigo and Bullet Rogan leading the way. It's debatable whether Ruth was even the best two way player of his era, given others who did it and how short Ruth's two way career actually was.
In marked contrast, Ohtani is peerless in this era and every other for the past 100 years.