The one constant amongst fans of all sports will be the endless arguments and comparisons between players of different eras. They are fascinating as well as impossible to resolve (until someone invents a time machine).
As far as my take, the Babe will never be surpassed as the best ever not only because of his performance against his peers but also his unprecedented celebrity at the time. Truly one of a kind.
That being said, if I had to wager my house on which player would fare better in a matchup against a modern day pitcher (let's say, DeGrom) and I could pick from Babe Ruth in his prime and Ohtani this year, I would take Ohtani. Not because Ohtani will ever become the legend that Ruth did, but because I think it's basically a fact that for various reasons today's athletes are superior to athletes of 100 years ago. There's a reason that world records get set almost every year in track and field.
As for the eye test, unfortunately, we aren't able to watch Ruth play in person. But I decided to take my daughters over to the Home Run Derby earlier this month (I live in Kansas City so it's only about 10 hours-ish). We were there mostly to watch Salvador Perez, but as a bonus I got to see Ohtani. He was CLEARLY the biggest draw there. Yes, hometown favorite Trevor Story got a lot of cheers, but EVERYBODY was watching Ohtani's every move...in interviews, batting practice, etc. There was even a contingent of Japanese fans that sort of just migrated around the stands during warmups trying to stay as close to him as possible.
And while his actual performance in the derby was pretty strong, his most impressive hit of the night was his final at bat in batting practice. It was "only" measured around 505 feet, but it bounced off the facing of the FOURTH deck at Coors field. If that fourth deck wasn't in the way, who knows where that ball would have landed. The entire place was buzzing...after a batting practice ball!
All this to say is that Ohtani is definitely something special right now. No, not Babe Ruth, but if you're not watching him, you are missing out.
A couple pics I took that day:
Stood behind the dugout during warmups and got a pic of Ohtani with his interpreter being interviewed by Harold Reynolds:
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Here's a wide shot of Coors field during warm ups and the very tip of the red arrow is where Ohtani hit that batting practice ball:
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