00:00There's somebody in Major League Baseball right now
00:02that is appointment-setting television,
00:06and that guy is Shohei Otani.
00:08It's one of the greatest stories I've ever seen.
00:12You know, I have worked as the pre- and post-game show host
00:16for the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres.
00:20I did that for about 10 years,
00:23one with them for five years, the Giants,
00:25and I did another four years with the Padres.
00:27Also worked on the Rays broadcast team,
00:30and I've had a chance to cover many Major League Baseball players,
00:34including Barry Bonds and guys like Ricky Henderson.
00:37I've never seen anything like this Shohei Otani.
00:40It's incredible.
00:41I mean, you know, the year he ends up getting injured,
00:45what does he do?
00:46He creates another category, 50 homers, 50 stolen bases.
00:53He's appointment-setting television.
00:55You know, back in the day, Babe Ruth was one of the greatest pitchers
01:00in the era that he played.
01:02And he was on his way to becoming a Hall of Fame pitcher.
01:06Then the Boston Red Sox decided to put him in the outfield,
01:09and voila, all of a sudden he hits 29 home runs.
01:12Then he turns around and he hits 54 home runs in his second year
01:15playing the outfield.
01:16But he wasn't doing this at the same time.
01:19Shohei Otani is the second-best player,
01:22and maybe he might just become the first-best player next to Barry Bonds.
01:28I had a chance to watch Barry Bonds, and I covered Barry Bonds.
01:32Bonds would come on my program once a week,
01:34and I've never seen anything like Barry Bonds.
01:37Seven-time Gold Glover, 762 home runs,
01:42the amount of walks that he commanded.
01:44I remember when Tony La Russa, when he was with the Cardinals,
01:48decided to walk intentionally Barry Bonds when the Cardinals had a two-run lead,
01:54and they walked him intentionally, giving up one run instead of Bonds
01:59destroying the game.
02:00Bonds is the greatest player I've ever seen.
02:03This guy would get three pitches a game,
02:06and he would destroy those three pitches.
02:09Every single time I showed up to a ball game,
02:13it seemed that Bonds hit a home run.
02:16And every time I'm watching Shohei Otani, you're just watching greatness.
02:22And for Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred, the commissioner of the sport,
02:26you need to make this guy front and center, Shohei Otani.
02:29It's something that we've never seen before.
02:32You know, Stephen A. Smith and some of his absolutely stupid takes,
02:35saying that a Japanese player can never be the face of the game.
02:39It's just ridiculous.
02:41Shohei Otani, every time he comes to the plate,
02:44I stop what I'm doing and watch what this guy does.
02:49You're watching greatness.
02:51I mean, this guy throws 102 off the mound.
02:55Then he hits 55 home runs.
02:58Where in the world have you ever seen anything like this?
03:02And for him to be playing with the L.A. Dodgers,
03:05the team right now spending over $400 million in payroll,
03:09and he's the centerpiece of Major League Baseball,
03:12it's appointment-setting television.
03:14There have been so many great players that I've been fortunate enough to have covered.
03:18I've covered Tony Gwynn and those multiple championships with batting titles that he won for the Padres.
03:24I covered Mark McGuire and the Bash Brothers,
03:27one of the most iconic baseball teams of all time that La Russa had with those A's team.
03:32And I'll even make this comment.
03:34Ricky Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of Major League Baseball,
03:38those 1,400-plus stolen bases will never be broken.
03:43But what we're watching right now with Otani, it's absolutely mind-numbing.
03:48He has changed the game.
03:50I mean, can you think about the numbers that he's put up in a short period of time?
03:57Can you imagine if he was able to start his career in Major League Baseball and not in the Japanese
04:05League?
04:06I mean, incredible numbers right now.
04:09Multiple times he's won the Most Valuable Player Award.
04:12He's arguably one of the greatest Dodgers of all time already.
04:17And he started his career with the Angels.
04:19What a tremendous, tremendous talent.
04:23I can't tell you.
04:25Every single time I go to YouTube or I go to X and I see these insane clips and I
04:33watch him and his Dodgers.
04:34Dodgers obviously are favored to win the National League West.
04:38I think the Padres are going to make some noise there.
04:40The Giants got better this offseason here.
04:43But, hey, let's take a look at it here.
04:46It's the Dodgers right now versus the field.
04:49So, probably really the only team that's going to give the Dodgers an opportunity really at really competing against is
04:56probably going to be the Phillies there.
04:57And over in the American League, you're probably thinking that the Yankees and obviously the Mariners.
05:02And I would also put probably the Blue Jays in there, even though they did lose Bo Bichette.
05:07Make no mistake about it.
05:08And Shohei Otani is absolutely one of the most insane players I've ever seen play.
05:13And I got to tell you, he is appointment-setting television.
05:18Every single time that guy gets to the plate, it's amazing.
05:22All right, guys.
05:22We're going to talk to a man who actually managed over in Japan.
05:27And I'm sure he's not surprised with what he's seen with Shohei Otani.
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