<p>Baseball has a weird relationship with two-way players. For a century, the sport essentially forgot they could exist. Pitchers pitched. Hitters hit. Everyone stayed in their lane.</p> <p>Then Shohei Ohtani showed up and broke the entire system.</p> <p>The comparisons to Babe Ruth started immediately. because they had to. Ruth remains the only other player in modern baseball history who genuinely dominated as both a pitcher and hitter at the highest level.</p> <p>But I think there is something that most people miss: <strong>the way they dominated, when they did it, and for how long are wildly different stories.</strong></p> <p>On October 17, 2025, Ohtani delivered what might be the most absurd two-way performance in postseason history: three home runs and 10 strikeouts as a pitcher in a single NLCS game. It sent the Dodgers <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/events/mlb-world-series">to the World Series</a> and reignited the debate that's been simmering for years.</p> <p>So let's settle this properly. Who's actually better? The Bambino who revolutionised baseball in the 1910s, or the modern unicorn who's doing things Ruth never imagined possible?</p> <h2>What Makes a Two-Way Player Great?</h2> <p>Before we start to look at numbers, stats, and eras, we need to define what we're measuring.</p> <p>Because I find that "two-way player" gets thrown around loosely, and most guys who claim the title are just dabbling.</p> <p><strong>A true two-way player</strong> needs to deliver elite production in both roles simultaneously. We're not talking about a decent pitcher who can hit a bit, or a slugger who throws a few innings when needed. We're talking genuine impact, the kind where removing either skillset would still leave you with an All-Star.</p> <p>The bar is high. For pitching, you must be a legitimate starting pitcher making regular starts, not an emergency reliever.</p> <p>For hitting, you must contribute meaningful offensive production with consistent playing time.&nbsp;</p> <p>Keep in mind that both have to happen in the same season, preferably across multiple years.&nbsp;</p> <p>Simultaneity matters because plenty of players have been good at both baseball skills at different points in their careers. In a way, plenty of high school kids pitch and hit.</p> <p>The rarity - and here we are getting at the thing that makes Ruth and Ohtani special - is doing both at an <strong>MVP-calibre level</strong> while competing against the best players on the planet.</p> <p>So, if that's the standard, now we need to see how our two candidates stack up.</p> <h2>Babe Ruth's Two-Way Career: The Original Blueprint</h2> <p>Let's get one thing straight: <strong>Babe Ruth was not primarily a two-way player</strong>. He was an exceptional pitcher who transitioned into an even more exceptional hitter. The overlap was brief.</p> <p>Ruth broke into the majors in 1914 as a <strong>left-handed pitcher</strong> for the Boston Red Sox. And he was brilliant at it.</p> <p>By 1916, he led the American League with a 1.75 ERA and tossed 23 complete games. In 1917, he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA. As a pure pitcher, Ruth was already one of the best in baseball.</p> <p>Over his career from 1914 to 1933, Ruth compiled a 94-46 pitching record with a 2.28 ERA and 488 strikeouts in 1,221.1 innings. He won three World Series as a pitcher with the Red Sox.</p> <p>Those numbers alone would've gotten him into the Hall of Fame if he'd never picked up a bat.</p> <p>But Ruth's hitting was too good to ignore. The Red Sox started playing him in the outfield on his off-days to keep his bat in the lineup. That's where the two-way magic happened…but ‘only’ for about <strong>two seasons</strong>.</p> <p>In 1918, Ruth pitched in 20 games with 19 starts across 166.1 innings and went 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA. But he also appeared in 95 games total, playing 59 games in the outfield.</p> <p>At the plate, he crushed 11 home runs in 382 plate appearances, tied for the league lead. This was revolutionary because nobody hit like that while also pitching at an elite level.</p> <p>Then came 1919, which stands as the greatest two-way season in baseball history until Ohtani arrived a century later.</p> <p>Ruth pitched 133.1 innings across 17 starts, going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA. And as a hitter? He shattered the single-season home run record with <strong>29 bombs</strong>, breaking Ned Williamson's 1884 record of 27, while batting .322 with 113 RBIs in 130 games.</p> <p>Ruth played 110 games in the outfield, pitched 12 complete games, and played every inning of 21 doubleheaders. The mental and physical workload was absurd.</p> <p><strong>Then it ended</strong>. After 1919, the Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees in what remains the most catastrophic trade in sports history. New York immediately made him a full-time outfielder and, after that, he never meaningfully pitched again.</p> <p>His arm was done, but his bat? That was just getting started. He'd go on to hit 60 home runs in 1927 and finish with 714 career dingers.</p> <h2>Shohei Ohtani's Modern Two-Way Dominance</h2> <p>If Ruth dipped his toes into two-way greatness, <strong>Ohtani cannonballed into the deep end and refused to leave.</strong></p> <p>Ohtani arrived in MLB from Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters in 2018 with a simple mission: prove that two-way players could exist in the modern game.</p> <p>Injuries derailed his first few seasons: Tommy John surgery in 2018, blister issues in 2019, pandemic-shortened 2020. But in 2021? He exploded.</p> <p>Ohtani's 2021 campaign was the first time since Ruth that a player delivered <strong>elite production</strong> in both roles for a full season. At the plate, he posted a .257/.372/.592 slash line with <strong>46 home runs</strong> (fourth in MLB), 100 RBIs, 103 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases. On the mound, he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and <strong>156 strikeouts</strong> in 130.1 innings across 23 starts, posting an 11.0 K/9 rate.</p> <p>No player in MLB history had ever combined 10-plus pitching wins with 30-plus home runs in the same season. Ohtani smashed that threshold with 46 homers and nine wins. He unanimously won the AL MVP Award becoming the first pitcher to do so since Don Newcombe in 1956.</p> <p>Ohtani didn't treat 2021 as a fluke, as he kept doing it. In 2022, he hit 34 home runs with 95 RBIs and an .875 OPS while posting a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts (fifth in MLB). He finished fourth in Cy Young voting that year.</p> <p>In 2023, he crushed 44 home runs with 95 RBIs and a .965 OPS that led the American League, while going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts. That’s when he won his second AL MVP Award.</p> <p>Then came 2024, the year Ohtani couldn't pitch due to elbow surgery, but hit 54 home runs and became the first player ever with a 50-50 season (50 homers, 50 stolen bases). He won his third MVP in four years despite not throwing a single pitch.</p> <p>In 2025, Ohtani returned to two-way action after his elbow healed. In the regular season, he posted 55 home runs and struck out 62 batters in 47 innings pitched.</p> <p>But it was the <strong>NLCS Game 4 performance</strong> that cemented his legacy: he hit three home runs (one travelling 469 feet, another 427 feet) while striking out 10 batters through 6.0 innings pitched without allowing a run.</p> <p>He became the first player in MLB history, regular season or postseason, to hit three home runs and strike out 10 in the same game. The Dodgers swept the Brewers. Ohtani won NLCS MVP. The debate became unavoidable.</p> <h2>Head-to-Head: The Statistical Showdown</h2> <p>Now that we know all the key info about both, let’s try to compare their peak two-way seasons directly.</p> <p>In 1919, Babe Ruth played 130 games, hit .322 with 29 home runs (which led MLB that year) and 113 RBIs, stole 7 bases, and posted a 1.114 OPS. On the mound, he went 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA, striking out 30 batters in 133.1 innings pitched.</p> <p>In 2021, Shohei Ohtani played 155 games, hit .257 with 46 home runs (fourth in MLB) and 100 RBIs, stole 26 bases, and posted a .965 OPS. On the mound, he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, striking out 156 batters in 130.1 innings pitched.</p> <p>Ruth's advantages are clear in batting average (.322 versus .257), OPS (1.114 versus .965), and RBIs (113 versus 100). But Ohtani's advantages tell a different story.</p> <p>He hit more home runs (46 versus 29), struck out <strong>five times as many batters</strong> (156 versus 30), stole way more bases (26 versus 7), and did it over a full 155-game season.</p> <p>Here's what jumps out: <strong>Ohtani was the better pitcher by a mile</strong>. Ruth's 30 strikeouts in 133 innings is a 2.0 K/9 rate. Ohtani's 156 strikeouts in 130 innings is an 11.0 K/9 rate. That's not just better - I hope you don’t think I exaggerate when I say that it feels like it's a different sport.</p> <p>Ruth was the better pure hitter in 1919, but Ohtani's 46 homers show more raw power. And Ohtani's speed, with 26 steals, adds a dimension Ruth never had.</p> <h2>Are We Comparing Apples to SpaceX Rockets?</h2> <p>There is at least one more issue to consider, and that’s where I believe the debate gets messy.</p> <p>Comparing 1919 baseball to 2021 baseball is like comparing a Model T to a Tesla. Technically both are vehicles, but everything else is unrecognisable.</p> <p>In Ruth's era, the average fastball sat around <strong>74-80 mph</strong> and pitchers relied on location, movement, and deception.&nbsp;</p> <p>By 2021, the average <strong>four-seam fastball was 94.2 mph</strong>. Ohtani himself regularly hits 100-101 mph.&nbsp;</p> <p>That 20 mph difference isn't an insignificant detail as it represents the gap between a high school pitcher and a big leaguer.</p> <p>Ohtani faces sliders, cutters, splitters, and changeups that 1918 pitchers literally didn't throw. Ruth never saw a pitch that moved like Spencer Strider's sweeper or Gerrit Cole's four-seamer.</p> <p>Does that mean Ruth would've struggled in 2025? Not necessarily. Elite athletes adapt. But you can't ignore the competition gap.</p> <p>Also, did you know that in 1919, they used the<strong> same ball for entire games?</strong> That was often a dead, scuffed, discoloured mess by the fourth inning.</p> <p>Pitchers could doctor balls with spit, mud, and sandpaper. Outfield fences were 450-plus feet away. Relief pitching barely existed; starters threw complete games or died trying.</p> <p>In modern baseball we have fresh balls every few pitches, video scouting on every hitter's weaknesses, and defensive shifts based on Statcast data.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a way, it almost feels like Ohtani succeeds in an era designed to prevent two-way players from existing because the sport evolved toward extreme specialisation (think pitch counts, analytics, platoon matchups) and he shattered those constraints anyway.</p> <p>Also, allow me to pass one uncomfortable but unavoidable key difference between the two players: Babe Ruth only played against white players.</p> <p>In case you missed this, theMLB didn't integrate until 1947 - while Ohtani faces the best players from the United States, Japan, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba…in other words, from everywhere.</p> <p>Today, the talent pool is global - and while that doesn't diminish Ruth's dominance within his era, it does mean Ohtani's competition is objectively deeper.</p> <h2>Different Greatness, Same Unicorn Status</h2> <p>So who's actually the greatest two-way player ever?</p> <p><strong>If you value peak performance, sustained production, and modern competition:</strong> Ohtani wins. He's done it longer, against tougher competition, while throwing 20 mph harder and hitting balls 450 feet. His 2021-2023 stretch is the best two-way run in MLB history, and his NLCS Game 4 performance in 2025 might be the single greatest two-way game ever played.</p> <p><strong>If you value historical impact and total career dominance:</strong> Ruth wins. He revolutionised baseball twice: first as a dominant pitcher, then as the greatest slugger the sport had ever seen. His 714 home runs stood as the record for 39 years. He changed how the game was played.</p> <p>But I have to admit that the more I researched facts and stats to work on this article, the more I started to realize that comparing them directly may be almost pointless.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a way, they're both unicorns who succeeded in wildly different worlds, and while Ruth proved two-way players could dominate in baseball's early days, Ohtani proved they still can a century later, despite every structural change designed to make it impossible.</p>