Angels News: Shohei Ohtani Not Satisfied With Breaking Babe Ruth's Record

Even when we consider a performance from Shohei Ohtani at the pitching mound to be subpar or mediocre, his stat line would probably still be solid for most pitchers around the MLB. There is a certain standard in which he has always held himself to and that's why he has propelled to the level of stardom he's at right now.

This current 2023 season marks his sixth in the MLB and he's played enough games at this point where his production is breaking records every week. Some aren't always the best, such as a recent one where he was hitting a bit too many players with his pitches. However, you are willing to take on those risks for a generational talent.

But whenever you find yourself surpassing the legendary Babe Ruth for any reason, it has to be special. Ohtani did just this at the top of the second inning of LA's Tuesday game against the Houston Astros as he struck out Jeremy Pena for his 502nd strikeout of his career, which gave him more than The Great Bambino.

With his 502nd career K, Shohei Ohtani passed Babe Ruth in career strikeouts.

(Via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/CMK5RWLw7F
— MLB (@MLB) May 10, 2023

A ton of comparisons have been drawn between both of these stars as they are part of an exclusive group that showcases elite skills on both the pitching and the plate whenever they step up to swing.

Anybody that gets mentioned in the same breath as Ruth is ecstatic let alone suppressing one of his career totals. But Ohtani knows how important this season is for him and the franchise so he is more focused on his overall performances in 2023.

Shohei Ohtani reacts to passing Babe Ruth in career strikeouts pic.twitter.com/A4tH545GB5
— The Sporting Tribune (@SportingTrib) May 10, 2023

"I haven't got many strikeouts, there were clear good and bad balls," said Ohtani with the help of a translator. "Of course it's good to say that I broke the record, but it's only the beginning of the year, so I'd like to try to enter games in a healthy condition every time I pitch."

(Via The Sporting Tribune)

As I mentioned earlier, this is the type of mindset that separates him from everybody else in the league.