“Never compare Cal Raleigh to Shohei Ohtani” - Fans react as David Ortiz highlights Mariners’ catcher’s dual impact with team eyeing ALCS berth

Shohei Ohtani and Cal Raleigh showed on Friday night why both superstars are in contention for the MVP awards in their respective leagues. The two helped their teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners, to crucial wins in their League Championship Series.

After the game, Fox Sports analyst and former Red Sox legend David Ortiz complimented Raleigh for his efforts, stating that the only player comparable to the 28-year-old is Shohei Ohtani, who showcases his own two-way talent.

"He is a real trooper," Ortiz said. "This guy is the face of the whole line now, when it comes down to it, because the thing that he does from both sides of the plate and how he commands that pitching staff is more than incredible. If there's someone in the game that you can compare to, it's Ohtani."

However, fans felt that Ortiz misjudged the two-way abilities of both Ohtani and Raleigh. According to them, Ohtani's pitching and hitting abilities are incomparable to anyone else in the history of the sport. Here are a few reactions:

"Never compare Cal Raleigh to Shohei cuz pitching and batting is wayy harder than being a catcher and batting," a fan said. "No one not even Babe Ruth compares to Shohei," another fan said. "Every catcher does this. No one has done what Ohtani is doing ever," a fan wrote. "Comparing anybody with Ohtani is insane LMAO what a stupid take," another fan commented. "This kinda like DISRESPECTFUL," a fan added. "Say What now? Can he get 10ks and 3 HRs in a single game?" a fan questioned.

Shohei Ohtani produced a one-of-a-kind postseason game, hitting three home runs in three at-bats while striking out ten batters in 6.0 scoreless innings as the Dodgers' starting pitcher. The Japanese superstar was crowned the NLCS MVP after LA completed the sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cal Raleigh, on the other hand, hit a game-tying home run in the eighth innings for the Seattle Mariners while catching for the team. The backstop's solo home run sparked a rally that was followed by a Eugenio Suarez for a game-winning grand slam that gave the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the series.

Shohei Ohtani accepts he was falling short of his postseason expectations

Heading into the game on Friday, Shohei Ohtani had a .158 average and a .641 OPS in the current postseason. That got a boost with the 31-year-old three-homer night. After the game, Ohtani accepted that he was itching to do better.

“It was my turn to perform,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton via The Athletic. “And looking back over the entire postseason, I haven’t performed to the expectation.”

The Dodgers are headed to consecutive Fall Classics. Shohei would look to carry the form and keep delivering with his two-way abilities.

Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy