Shohei Ohtani Named Most Influential MLB Player

Thousands of athletes have taken the field to the point where it sounds next to impossible to pick only 25 of them, but Bleacher Report believes Shohei Ohtani is one of the 25 most influential athletes of all time.

Coming in at No. 12, Ohtani is called “the rarest of baseball players”. He has now played in the MLB for seven seasons, starting off with the Angels for his first six before signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers (exactly) a year ago.

All Ohtani did was win an MVP award in the National League, post baseball’s first 50-50 season, narrowly missed baseball’s first 55-55 season, and then won a World Series.

How does one single player merit $70 million per year? By being Shohei Ohtani. If you take a trip down to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, he’s everywhere. By now, he’s everywhere in all of Los Angeles, the United States, Japan and the rest of the world.

The most popular MLB player jersey? Shohei Ohtani for the second straight season on his second team.

Destined for greatness from the beginning, Ohtani was compared to Clayton Kershaw as a pitcher and Bryce Harper as a hitter. What do you think?

Ohtani, 29, hit .310/.390/.646 with 54 HRs, 130 RBIs, 59 steals in 63 attempts, 134 runs scored in 159 games. He posted a 9.2 WAR.

That’s impact, especially in a game that is seeking to boost its popularity.

Other baseball players on the list include Barry Bonds (17) and Ichiro Suzuki (20).

Many will argue with Lakers superstar LeBron James sitting at the top of the list. Warriors PG Stephen Curry is No. 2, followed by Patriots QB Tom Brady, golfer Tiger Woods and World Cup champion Lionel Messi.

Other notable superstars include Kobe Bryant (6), Caitlin Clark (15), Patrick Mahomes (18) and Shaquille O’Neal (23).

See the full list from Bleacher Report.

Your Turn: How would you redo Bleacher Report’s list? Is No. 12 too low for Shohei Ohtani? Tell us below in the comments!