To be the contrarian amid the Ohtani euphoria -- and admittedly biased as a Giants fan
-- I think Ohtani's best years are already behind him.
He's 29 and will be 30 on July 5, 2024 -- data shows peak is usually 27-28, give or take. "Hitters peak in batting and slugging average at 28 while continuing to improve in their home-run hitting and walking abilities until 30 and 32." See:
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news ... 27-theory/ ... I would say the same about the Aaron Judge contract the Yanks gave that 30-year-old last year, best days have already passed, perhaps a couple more good seasons, then Father Time takes over and you're paying for 6-7 declining seasons ... YIKES
He's a DH, no defensive value whatsoever. At least Ruth played the outfield in the brief time he was a two-way player.
Two Tommy John surgeries already. Let's see how the pitching goes. If that doesn't work out, the Dodgers are paying $700M/10 years for a DH.
I'd rather have Juan Soto, age 25 and plays almost every game.