Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Sees Similarities Between Shohei Ohtani and Barry Bonds

Shohei Ohtani is great, but the question is how great?

The Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter is already on pace to go down as an all-time great. A three-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP, Ohtani is one of the best currently in the game. His athleticism and two-way versatility as both a pitcher and hitter have made him a unique star, and one with massive potential.

While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not ready to directly compare Ohtani to all-time legend Barry Bonds, he did say he believes that Ohtani can put the same kind of stress on opponents.

“I’m not saying that Ohtani is Barry [Bonds],” Roberts said, via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “but when I played against Barry, it was like he was always looming. Ohtani is just like that. I can’t imagine the stress it puts on opposing teams knowing that he’s looming. He’s always there. It’s got to be stressful.”

Per Dave Roberts via USA Today

This is not the first time Roberts has mentioned Ohtani in the same sentence as Bonds. Before the season began back in February, Roberts compared Ohtani’s talent level to Bonds‘.

“I think as far as the talent Barry was the most talented player I’ve ever played with, and Shohei probably has a chance to be the most talented player ever to play the game of baseball,” Roberts told SportsNet LA in February. “So I’m eager to get to know him more, to watch him on the day to day. From the short sample from Shohei’s side, very intentional about all of his work. Barry was very intentional about his work. Everything was done with a purpose.”

Per Dave Roberts via USA Today

For Ohtani to truly be compared to Bonds, he’ll have to continue on his current trajectory and rack up at least near the all-time stats that Bonds has put up. He currently has 174 career home runs, 456 RBIs, and 91 stolen bases midway through his seventh MLB season.

Ohtani is not necessarily that far behind the pace of Bonds, who had 206 home runs and 631 RBIs once he finished his seventh season. For Ohtani to keep up with Bonds, he’d have to play with the kind of longevity that Bonds did, playing 20 MLB seasons.

Even great longevity won’t guarantee that Ohtani will ever match or come close to Bonds’ accomplishments as Bonds has both the single-season and career home run record, and was a seven-time NL MVP. The best chance for Ohtani to be considered in the class of players like Bonds is for the combined value of his pitching and hitting to propel him to that level.

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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