Could Dodgers Shohei Ohtani Be the MLB GOAT? One Former MVP Thinks So

Ohtani certainly has the qualifications to make it happen if he continues to shine.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' free agent signing of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani made waves throughout the baseball world, both domestic and globally. The pure star power of Ohtani made him a no-brainer for Los Angeles to sign and so far, he has lived up to what the team expected from him.

Ohtani's larger-than-life presence has taken the game by storm since his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2017. His ability to hit at a high rate, while also pitch like a Cy Young winner, has given new thought to what could be possible for an athlete.

Former MLB All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau weighed in on Ohtani during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. Morneau believes that we could be witnessing the Greatest of All-Time in baseball at this very moment.

“It's hard for me," said Morneau, a British Columbia native. "We used to drive down to Seattle. I used to watch Ken Griffey Jr. play. ... And I mean, you talk about athleticism and special charisma, and there might be nine players on the field, but 99 percent of that stadium has their eyes fixated on Ken Griffey Jr. playing center field. I mean, it's hard to take your eyes off him and hard to ignore what he was doing. But you throw the pitching on top of it. I think that to me is really the separator. I mean the guy’s an elite hitter, the the best hitter this year. He's been one of the best hitters since he's been in the big leagues. Oh yeah, and he can pitch, too. And not just pitch, but go out there and dominate. I mean, lead the league in strikeouts, whatever you need him to do, he could do it. It's incredible."

Cross another "first" off Shohei Ohtani's Dodger list. #Dodgers | @Dodgers
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— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) May 20, 2024

If Ohtani continues down this route, he may become the greatest of all-time ever to play baseball. In six seasons, he already has won two unanimous MVP awards and is a three-time All-Star, among plenty of other accomplishments. Ohtani's ability to perform at a high level has only been hampered by injuries throughout his career. The Dodgers hope he can remain relatively healthy going forward.

Morneau continued his evaluation of Ohtani.

"But it's hard to argue against Shohei even though he's not even close to being done yet with that long deal he signed that he's not going to go down as the greatest baseball player of all time. It's really (true) even if he never pitches again.”

This year alone, Ohtani has helped the Dodgers play like a more well-rounded club. He is hitting .348 with 13 home runs and 34 runs batted in entering the weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds. Ohtani has created a three-headed monster at the top of the L.A. lineup alongside Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Ohtani already has racked up more individual accomplishments than most players in history, with more possibly to come. With a better supporting cast around him, Ohtani might be able to stake his claim to the best in baseball history.