What can we say about Shohei Ohtani that hasn't already been said? After all, we even now know the name of his dog.
With the Hall of Fame announcement for the Class of 2024 set for Tuesday, how about this for a discussion topic: Has Ohtani already accomplished enough to merit eventual election to Cooperstown?
Sure, it's easy to point to the fact that Ohtani has played just six major league seasons, but let's not forget just how unique his Hall of Fame case is and how high his career peaks have been.
In his past three transcendent seasons while simultaneously performing as one of the best hitters and best pitchers in the majors, he won two MVP Awards -- becoming the first player to unanimously win the award twice. You can attempt to compare Babe Ruth or Bullet Joe Rogan of the Negro Leagues to Ohtani, but given the specific circumstances and caliber of competition, Ohtani stands out as a one-of-a-kind baseball sensation.
This brings us to the essential argument of many Hall of Fame debates: How to consider peak value versus career value. That's the case for several candidates on this year's ballot, including Todd Helton and Chase Utley, two players who had very high levels of peak performance but not the career numbers usually associated with Hall of Famers. Andruw Jones is similar as a player who starred in his 20s then declined rapidly after turning 30.
So let's take that to the extreme in Ohtani's case: In a scenario -- hopefully an unlikely one -- where the rest of his career doesn't match what he accomplished over the previous three seasons, would his unrivaled short peak as a dominant two-way player be enough?
