Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani turned 32 years old Sunday, celebrating what’s already been a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
As the greatest two-way player of the modern era, Ohtani has often been compared to Babe Ruth. But at 32 years old, how does Ohtani rank with Ruth at that age?
When Ruth turned 32 in 1927, he was a 14-year veteran. Ohtani is in the midst of his ninth year.
Ruth was a two-way player for 10 seasons, spending the first six years doing it with the Red Sox. Then he did it with the Yankees through 1920-1921, and in 1930 and 1933.
When you compare the entirety of Ohtani and Ruth’s careers, they’re fairly similar in almost every category. But what happens when you compare the two through their age-32 seasons?
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.
