Craig Carton not sold on Shohei Ohtani: ‘Wake me when he makes the postseason’

It’s pretty well understood that Shohei Ohtani is the best player in Major League Baseball and arguably one of the most impressive athletes in pro sports today. It’s become commonplace to discuss his mind-boggling stats but the two-way player currently leads all of MLB in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage, and opponents’ batting average. The 2021 AL MVP seems like a sure thing at the moment to earn that award once more.

It’s also pretty well understood that the Los Angeles Angels have done a terrible job taking advantage of Ohtani’s, and Mike Trout’s, presence. We probably don’t need to explain the Tungsten Arm’ O’Doyle tweet to you, do we? The good news is that the Angels actually seem like they might make the playoffs this year, a first since Ohtani joined the ball club.

If they eventually do make the playoffs, that means Fox Sports’s Craig Carton, who recently announced he’s leaving his other post at WFAN, will have to start thinking of Ohtani as the best player in sports. Because as far as he’s concerned, despite the wild stats and history-making moments, you don’t count until you’re in the postseason.

“He’s a great player. We know he’s a great player,” said Carton Monday when discussing Ohtani with co-hosts  Plaxico Burress, Tim Hardaway Sr., and Eric Decker.

When asked whether or not Ohtani is the best individual player in all sports, Carton couldn’t say yet.

“Best individual player in all of sports? Not if he’s never taken his team to a postseason, can’t be,” said Carton. “At some point, if you are the best individual in a team sport, you gotta take your team to the postseason. I’m not even saying you gotta win it all, but you gotta get to a postseason.”

“Wake me when he makes the postseason,” he later added.

https://twitter.com/TheCartonShow/status/1670848652573540373

That sounds like some serious sports-talk radio brain there. Sure there’s some merit in being able to make the playoffs but Ohtani can’t pitch every night for the Angels and he can’t take every spot in the batting order. One individual player has never been able to will a baseball team into the playoffs. Given that he puts up otherworldly stats every season, while batting and pitching, you couldn’t possibly ask any more of him. So the onus clearly isn’t on Ohtani to prove more. The onus is and always has been on the Angels.

Perhaps the more pertinent question here is why Carton seems to be sitting several inches higher than his co-hosts. What’s that about? And when coupled with Colin Cowherd’s set, what’s the deal over at Fox Sports with host seating height requirements?

[The Craig Carton Show, via The Big Lead]