Greg Maddux is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball -- and has a true appreciation for just how much people dig the long ball. So when the Hall of Famer notes, as he did during Thursday's appearance on ESPN Radio show "Canty and Carlin," that even he can't believe what Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is accomplishing in Major League Baseball -- well, there isn't a much higher endorsement in the game.
"He's one of the top two or three pitchers in the game and he's one of the top two or three power hitters in the game," Maddux said. "We've never seen a player like that before. And it's definitely fun to watch. You can watch him throw a shutout one night and go deep the next night. It's kind of special to see a guy that good just dominate as much as he does."
Obviously, Ohtani's transcendent skills are unique -- a point Maddux reinforced when asked if there was anyone Ohtani reminded him of.
"He kind of reminds you of Nolan Ryan, and then he reminds you of freaking Barry Bonds," Maddux said. "He's both of those guys. I mean he's got great stuff and he can hit a home run with the best of anybody. Nobody else has done it before; I mean the last guy was who, maybe Babe Ruth? Nobody's been able to do that."