On Sunday, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated his 32nd birthday, marking another milestone in his illustrious career that many believe is already Hall of Fame-worthy.
Renowned as the best dual-threat player of his generation, Ohtani is often mentioned in the same breath as Babe Ruth. But how does Ohtani’s career at age 32 match up against Ruth’s achievements at the same age?
By the time Babe Ruth reached 32 in 1927, he had already spent 14 seasons in the major leagues. In contrast, Ohtani is currently navigating his ninth season in professional baseball.
Ruth’s run as a two-way athlete spanned a decade, beginning with an impactful six years with the Boston Red Sox. He continued this dual role with the New York Yankees into the 1920-1921 seasons and briefly revived it in 1930 and 1933.
Analyzing the complete careers of Ohtani and Ruth reveals striking similarities across various metrics. But when focusing solely on their performances up to age 32, how do they stack against each other?
When Ruth played in his age-32 season in 1927, he was already a five-time World Series champion (three with Boston, two with New York) and a one-time American League MVP Award winner in 1923. He had a career .349 batting average, 416 home runs and 1,262 RBIs in 1,501 games.
Nearly 100 years apart from Ruth, Ohtani has played in MLB for nine years and is a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers (2024 and 2025). He’s a four-time MVP (two in the American League with the Angels and two with the Dodgers), has a career .282 batting average, 298 home runs and 719 RBIs in 1,099 games.
Ohtani has pitched for seven years, missing time on the mound due to Tommy John surgery twice. In his MLB pitching career, Ohtani is 47-22, with a 2.83 ERA, 765 strikeouts and one shutout in 114 appearances.
Through Ruth’s first seven years as a pitcher, he had an 89-46 record, a 2.19 ERA, 439 strikeouts and 16 shutouts in 148 appearances.