It’s the Toronto Blue Jays and the LA Dodgers in the 121st Fall Classic. Our writers assess how it will be decided, who will shine brightest and the eventual champion
He is and it’s hard to imagine that another player will even approach his accomplishments in this lifetime. In Game 4 of this season’s NLCS, he struck out 10 hitters over six shutout innings and hit over a quarter-mile’s worth of home runs. Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux may have summarized it best when said: “He kind of reminds you of Nolan Ryan, and then he reminds you of freaking Barry Bonds.” Gabriel Baumgaertner
Comparing players across eras is a mug’s game … but yes. We’ll never know how Babe Ruth or Cy Young might have fared had they been around today, but it’s unarguable that players are consistently bigger, stronger and fitter than ever before. To be as dominant as Ohtani is now at two such difficult and different disciplines is superhuman. If he was American they’d have started work on a new wing in Cooperstown. Alan Evans
He’s rewriting what the term even means. A two-way superstar who’s led both leagues in WAR, carried two franchises and now headlines a superteam chasing back-to-back titles. Ruth never faced 100mph sliders. Trout never took the mound. Ohtani’s doing both at historic levels in the analytics age. Bryan Armen Graham
