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Buster Posey doesn’t hide his admiration for Shohei Ohtani. In an interview with The Standard, the Giants’ president of baseball operations said the Dodgers’ phenom is far more than a once-in-a-generation player.
“I think he’s once in 150 years, once in a couple-hundred years,” Posey said.
In retrospect, what Ohtani has accomplished as a two-way player in the big leagues is quite literally unbelievable in Posey’s mind. He recalled a conversation deep into his playing career with his agent, Jeff Berry, when word circulated that Ohtani was going to leave Japan to play Major League Baseball.
“Jeff was, like, man, he’s the real deal. He can pitch and hit,” Posey said. “I said, ‘Jeff, no way. You can’t do it.’ I’d been in the big leagues at that point for seven or eight years, and I was, like, the physicality to do both is impossible. You just can’t do it.
“I mean, he certainly proved me wrong.”
With pro athletes, there’s no greater praise than the praise offered by a peer, especially when an iconic Giant is the one praising an iconic Dodger. Anyone who has watched Ohtani perform on the field would attest to his greatness, but it hits home when the words come from someone likely heading to the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.
Posey always was known as a reliable judge of talent dating from his playing days, not just regarding a player’s on-field performance but his personality, demeanor, and value within the clubhouse. If you were to ask him to rate Ohtani, he’d offer perfect scores across the board.
“I think he’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to our game. I really do,” said Posey, a two-way player himself in college. “Obviously, he’s in our division, and we’re doing everything we can to beat him. We want to beat him, badly. But when you put your fan hat on, you’ve got to soak up watching this guy because, again, I don’t think you’re going to see another player like him again. As a fan of baseball, you can’t help but appreciate him.”
Ohtani’s Dodgers finally beat the Giants 3-0 in Thursday’s series finale at Oracle Park after the Giants triumphed Tuesday and Wednesday. Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings in the middle game but went 1-for-13 with five strikeouts in the series, ending his streak of reaching base at 53 games. His lone hit was an infield single in the opener.
That’s an aberration. The norm is for Ohtani to slug his way through every game and dominate on the mound when it’s his turn in the rotation. The Giants were grateful his bat took a break, though their pitching did a wonderful job keeping him unbalanced all series, from Landen Roupp to Tyler Mahle to Logan Webb, and all the relievers along the way.
Thursday’s game offered some typical Giant-Dodger shenanigans. Webb drilled Dalton Rushing two days after the Dodgers’ catcher was caught on camera seemingly badmouthing Jung Hoo Lee after Lee was thrown out at the plate. L.A. manager Dave Roberts said the plunking was probably intentional while Webb said it was “just a fastball inside.” Rushing responded with an illegal and dangerous slide into shortstop Willy Adames’ legs, wide of second base. Luis Arráez, who had the Giants’ only hit, said, “For me, it’s not clean baseball. … It’s dirty.”
It was hardly the major story of the week. It was minor stuff, really, compared with all the brawls, bean-ball episodes, and bad blood in this age-old rivalry. The bigger story was the Giants winning the series and containing Ohtani at the plate, which had to be a gratifying experience, Thursday’s loss notwithstanding.
“I think it coincides with how the series went,” Webb said. “You put [Ohtani] on any team, when you get him out, you have a chance to do well in that series. I think we did a great job with the staff. I think everyone stuck to their strengths and had confidence in themselves to get a guy like that out. It was fun to watch.”
That Ohtani is a Dodger is a bummer for Giants fans who are forced to endure his greatness through the 2034 season. That they realize he twice took a pass on signing with the Giants makes it no easier. Before both the 2018 and 2023 seasons, the Giants put the full-court press on Ohtani only to watch him join the Angels and then the Dodgers.
The first time, when Ohtani was an international free agent and relatively cheap, the Giants were among seven finalists he chose – along with the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Mariners, Cubs, and Rangers. The three American League clubs had a distinct advantage because they had the designated hitter rule and the National League didn’t.
The second time he became a free agent, the stakes were far higher. Both the Giants and Dodgers essentially offered what he wanted, $700 million over 10 years with all but $20 million deferred, and Ohtani elected to stay in Southern California.
Looking back, which pursuit was more realistic for the Giants?
“If I had to guess,” said Posey, who was part of both pitches, “I’d guess the second one just because now you’re dealing with more of an even playing field of having a DH and the money component involved. There was only so much money you could give him the first go around because he was coming in as an international player and had to fall into that slot. But I would caveat that in hindsight with him living in L.A. prior for six years. He might have already made up his mind because that’s where his roots were.”
The Ohtani-led Dodgers have won consecutive World Series titles, and Ohtani has won four MVPs in five years. The Giants have had one winning record in nine years, and while it might be wasteful energy to wonder how history would have changed with Ohtani in orange and black, it’ll always be an all-time “what if?” for many Giants fans.
When Ohtani left Japan, he wanted to pitch on the West Coast, a shorter flight from home, and his marketing people wanted him to join a team that hadn’t had a high-profile Japanese player in a while. The Giants checked the boxes on both fronts. The DH rule was the stickler. It became temporarily universal during the 2020 pandemic season but not permanent until 2022 as part of the latest collective bargaining agreement.
Had the previous CBA included a universal DH rule, the Giants’ chances of snagging Ohtani would have greatly improved.
“Who’s to say? I think we would have had a better shot,” Posey said.
That’s all in the distant past. For now, Posey’s focus is on turning around the Giants’ fortunes, and their recent play of winning five of seven (and keeping Ohtani in check) is a good sign. The trick is to maintain the momentum in the coming weeks, including in a rematch with Ohtani and Co. May 11-14 at Dodger Stadium.
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