The legendary Babe Ruth is perhaps baseball’s greatest player of all time. But one veteran outfielder of the Milwaukee Brewers ranks the phenomenon that is Shohei Ohtani ahead of Ruth. During a conversation on ‘The Old Man And The Three’ podcast, Brewers star Christian Yelich spoke about the uniqueness of Ohtani and what it was like to get a first-hand experience of his prowess.

“His skill set is, nobody’s ever had that before,” Yelich remarked on the show. “I mean, like, not even Babe Ruth had that to be able to throw 100 off the mound and be one of the best pitchers in baseball and then obviously one of the offensive players too, and he’s just such a physical freak too. He’s huge.”

At 31, Ohtani has set a precedent, offensively and as a pitcher, that no one can match. His 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers is a nod to the unique two-way skill set he possesses. Currently, Ohtani is MLB’s only player pitching and hitting at elite levels.

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Across seven seasons as a pitcher, Shotime holds a career ERA of 2.86 with a 31.2% strikeout rate. In terms of batting, split between the Angels and the Dodgers, Ohtani holds a .280 average, recording 286 homers with a .950 career OPS.

Ohtani’s idiosyncrasy lies in his ability to pitch and hit simultaneously in the same game, that too at a high level. His exclusive skills even drove the MLB to introduce the two-way rule, popularly known as the ‘Shohei Ohtani rule.’

Included in the league in 2022, it allows a starting pitcher who is also the team’s designated hitter (DH) to remain in the game as the DH after they are removed from the mound. This allows two-way players to bat even after finishing their pitching duties, preventing the team from losing the DH spot. The Los Angeles Dodgers can keep an extra arm on the rotation, as two-way players don’t count towards the 13-pitcher roster limit.

Though the two-way player designation came with Ohtani’s arrival in MLB, Ruth can be considered one of the first two-way players in pro baseball.

The Hall of Famer was a dominant left-handed pitcher and power hitter for the Boston Red Sox before he became a full-time outfielder for the Yankees. Ruth holds a .342 average and 1.164 OPS, with a 2.28 career ERA for pitching. He was among the first five baseball players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

But for Yelich, Ohtani’s modern execution of both roles is unmatched. He recounted the time the Brewers faced off against the Dodgers in the NLCS.

“He probably played one of the best games that’s ever been played in the history of baseball against us. Usually, when you get eliminated from the playoffs, we were obviously bummed, but we lost Game 4 of the NLCS to him… (He) basically beat us by himself.”

In that historic Game 4, the four-time MVP was on fire as a hitter and pitcher.

On one side of the field, he blasted three homers, while on the opposite side, he threw six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out 10 to beat the Brewers 5-1 in the NLCS. And in Game 3, Yelich himself faced Ohtani’s pitching power.

Shohei blew a 100.2 mph four-seam fastball past Christian Yelich to end the first inning. The Dodgers kept the Brewers scoreless at Dodger Stadium.

While both are on a National League playoff-contending team, back when the two-way phenom was just 25, Tony Blengino predicted (Forbes) that he would be the ‘Next Christian Yelich.’ And here we are today!

Looking at their postseason stats before they faced off in 2025, their BA stood at .205 (Ohtani) and .253 (Yelich) through 22 games. While Yelich had 21 hits and Ohtani had 18, Shohei’s power skills were evident with his 5 homers compared to Christian’s 2.

Even in Fantasy Sports, Ohtani is picked by 95% of users. But despite that rivalry, Milwaukee’s $188.5 million star is stunned by the LA superstar. And it’s not just Yelich.

In 2025, the Atlanta Braves’ outfielder, Ronald Acuña Jr had named Shohei Ohtani as his favorite athlete in an MLB Office Hours video. Shotime’s teammates are no different either, calling him the “greatest player in history,” praising his “unicorn moment,” while admitting their admiration for watching him play.

This season, though, the Dodgers are being careful with him.

Following his second Tommy John surgery, 2026 is his first full season as a two-way player. Despite the slow start as a hitter (.241), Ohtani’s pitching (0.97 ERA) has been Cy Young contender level so far. To lessen his workload and keep him healthy, the Dodgers are keeping him off the lineup on his start days.

For the Brewers, they currently hold a 21-16 record, sitting third in the NL Central. The team expects Yelich back in the lineup soon.

Milwaukee Brewers expect Yelich back in the lineup

Christian Yelich has been missing from the Milwaukee Brewers’ lineup since April 12 due to an adductor strain. Before the injury, the 34-year-old was slashing .314/.375/.451 with four extra-base hits. He remains a huge piece of the Brewers’ offense.

According to Brewers analyst David Gasper, manager Pat Murphy told him on Friday that Yelich could be back in the lineup as soon as the current homestand. During this stretch, the Brewers would be hosting the San Diego Padres.

Yelich was reportedly swinging with the team during batting practice before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 4.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee already got some major help last week.

Rookie star Jackson Chourio and first baseman Andrew Vaughn both returned on May 4. Chourio missed the start of the year. He fractured his left hand during the World Baseball Classic. Vaughn had been out since Opening Day. He was recovering from a fractured hamate bone.

Milwaukee will host Ohtani and the Dodgers for a three-game series. The highly anticipated matchup kicks off on May 22. It will be the perfect test. We will finally see if a healthy Brewers roster can slow down baseball’s biggest star.