Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — Mark DeRosa, MLB network analyst and newly named WBC manager, recently gave fans a treat during a deep-dive segment comparing Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge—the two towering superstars leading baseball from opposite coasts. But while both men earned high praise, it was clear that DeRosa couldn’t stop marveling at what Ohtani is doing in Dodger blue.
“We got kind of gypped in the World Series last year,” DeRosa said, referencing Ohtani’s shoulder injury that limited his production. “But he’s back on the West Coast doing his thing.” That “thing,” as DeRosa laid out in meticulous detail, is unlike anything the game has ever seen.
He began by breaking down Ohtani’s simplified mechanics at the plate—how he’s refined his swing to the point of near perfection. “All he has to do is pull the trigger,” DeRosa explained. “Everything’s happening from the backside—back ear, back shoulder, back hip, back knee. The front side? Just a kickstand.” He compared the motion to a wave building power before crashing forward. “There’s no manipulation. No wasted motion. A hingeless swing where the ball just gets in the way.”
Then came the highlight reel: five of Ohtani’s longest home runs—including bombs of 473 feet (off Cutter Crawford), 470 feet (Kris Bubic), and a 464-foot shot last year off A.J. Minter. Most impressive? Four of those five came against left-handed pitchers, a rarity for any lefty slugger. “Guys don’t hit baseballs to that part of the park,” DeRosa said. “It’s like Stanton, Judge… and him.”
Ohtani’s stats since moving into the leadoff spot are almost video game-like: a .306 average, 61 home runs, 137 RBIs, and 73 stolen bases over just 109 games. “How was your season?” DeRosa joked. “I don’t know, I hit .306 with 61 and 137 and I’m a top-five pitcher when I’m right.” He couldn’t resist a final flourish: “We can’t talk about this guy enough.”
But the East Coast has its own generational talent—and DeRosa made sure to give Aaron Judge his flowers too. Judge, recently named DeRosa’s team captain for the WBC, ended a 10-game homerless drought, which DeRosa brushed off as a “career for most guys,” noting that even during the dry spell, Judge was scorching baseballs. “He’s hitting .409. That’s not exactly slumping.”
Judge’s raw power is still jaw-dropping. DeRosa spotlighted a few of his longest home runs, including a 495-foot monster off Ryan Pressly and a 477-foot shot off Kevin Gausman in a 3-1 count. “You miss your spot by a hair, and it’s destroyed,” DeRosa said. “That’s what blows me away about Judge—he’s efficient, disciplined, and punishing.”
He compared Judge’s efficiency now to his earlier days, showing how small mechanical adjustments have made his swing even more dangerous. And when it comes to historical context? “We’re watching a guy with the highest OPS+ through age 33 in the modern era,” DeRosa noted. “He is them,” referencing legends like DiMaggio and Mantle.
In the end, DeRosa summed it up perfectly: “Two superstars. Two coasts. Two guys doing things we’ve never seen. And they’re both doing it at the same time.”
For Dodgers fans, it’s a reminder that Shohei Ohtani isn’t just living up to the hype—he’s redefining.
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