Shohei Ohtani has been compared to Babe Ruth throughout the season, but now the Angelino star will have something in common with U.S. President Joe Biden, businessman Elon Musk and artist Lil Nas X.
Ohtani joined these and other luminaries on TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2021, published Wednesday. Ohtani was in the “Icons” section, alongside Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. His profile was written by 14-time all-star Alex Rodriguez.
“If you do like Dr. Frankenstein and put all the talent together in one player, you get Shohei Ohtani,” Rodriguez wrote. “It has the power of Bryce Harper, the pitching of Max Scherzer and the speed of Trea Turner.”
Despite being in a pothole since early August, Ohtani remains the second most home run player with 44 and fifth in OPS + with 157. As a pitcher, he has effectiveness from 3.36 to 115.1 innings. Its strike rate per ball base is 20.1%; ranked among the top 30 openers with at least 100 episodes thrown. His 7.7 WAR is the highest in Major Leagues.
“He’s not only amazing on the field, but also outside. He’s a gentleman,” Rodriguez wrote. “His teammates just say good things about him and he’s good with the press and the fans.”