Is Shohei Ohtani ‘the New Babe Ruth,’ or Something Entirely New?

The two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels draws countless comparisons to the Yankees legend, but their paths are fairly different.

“The 21st century Babe Ruth.” “The modern-day Babe Ruth.” “The greatest two-way player since Babe Ruth.” When reaching back through history for comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, who hit his 40th home run of the season on Wednesday, fans and sportswriters tend to find just one: Babe Ruth. One of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, of course, Ruth started his career as a first-rate pitcher. So Ohtani, the two-way sensation for the Los Angeles Angels, is simply Ruth reincarnated, right? It is not quite that simple.