"The league table of catchers' challenge percentages will be fascinating. The robo-ump makes me sick, but I also didn't love the pitch clock and I could never go back to 3hr 45min games."
"Shohei Ohtani is the greatest player since Eddy Merckx? Michael Phelps? Jan Zelezny? Leonidas of Rhodes? Secretariat? At this point you have to look beyond baseball and start making comparisons with other sports' greatest ever competitors."
"There's something pure about a pitcher figuring out the nuances of a particular ump's strike zone. And ABS minimizes an important aspect of a catcher's repertoire: framing."
"No offense to The Babe, but he wasn't exactly hitting off flamethrowers or throwing the ball 100mph like Ohtani. Himself! Ruth made 36 starts over two years before his hitting prowess forced him off the mound."
The introduction of the universal DH, banning of the shift, and three-batter minimum rule have altered game management dynamics. The automated ball-strike system (ABS) is controversial, with mixed feelings about its impact on umpires and catchers. Shohei Ohtani's exceptional performance is drawing comparisons to the greatest athletes across sports, highlighting his unique dual-threat capability as both a pitcher and hitter. His achievements are seen as unprecedented in the analytics era, surpassing historical figures like Babe Ruth.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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