Yes, Shohei Ohtani just delivered the best playoff performance in MLB history

What follows is not hyperbole. It is the truth. Shohei Ohtani just had the best individual playoff game in the history of Major League Baseball. 

Hopefully you got to witness it — the Dodgers’ pennant-clinching NLCS Game 4 win that completed their sweep of the Brewers — whether live in person or somewhere on a monitor. If not, just let the stat line soak in. 

Ohtani came to the plate four times. He made zero outs. He walked once. He hit three mesmerizing home runs. 

Ohtani also pitched. He threw six scoreless innings and only allowed two hits. He struck out 10. 

Despite having a very quiet first three games of the series, Ohtani was named NLCS MVP after Game 4. Again, let that all soak in.

We’ve known for years that we’ve never seen anything like Ohtani. I remember in 2023 talking to CC Sabathia and listening to him explain why Ohtani was the greatest player of all-time. I’ve gone through the old stats before to point out that Babe Ruth’s pitching and stellar hitting seasons didn’t overlap much. That was three years ago. Ohtani has won two MVPs since then and is going to add another this year. He’s won a World Series in 2025 and might very well win another in the next two weeks.

This is simply ridiculous.

Bill James once wrote that Rickey Henderson was so good that you could cut him in half and have two Hall of Famers. You don’t even need to divide Ohtani up. He’s clearly a Hall of Fame level offensive player. When he’s been able to stay healthy enough to pitch, he pitches at a Hall of Fame level, too. 

It was all on display in Game 4 of the NLCS. 

Just walk through it chronologically. 

• Ohtani issued a leadoff walk, but then struck out the next three Brewers batters he faced in the top of the first. 
• He led off the bottom of the first with a home run.
• In the top of the second, he induced two groundouts and a popout from the Brewers’ offense.
• In the bottom of the second, he drew a walk.
• In the top of the third, he walked a batter, got a strikeout and then a double play. 
• In the top of the fourth, he gave up a leadoff double, but then got a groundout and two strikeouts to strand the runner.
• In the bottom of the fourth, he homered. It went 469 feet.
• In the top of the fifth, he got a flyout and two strikeouts on the mound.
• In the top of the sixth, he got a flyout and two strikeouts. Again. 
• In the bottom of the seventh, he hit another home run.

You can’t find anyone in postseason history who can compare with that. It’s impossible. 

The following players have three-HR games in their postseason careers: Babe Ruth (twice), Bob Robertson, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Adam Kennedy, Adrian Beltré, Albert Pujols, Pablo Sandoval, Jose Altuve, Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor. None of them pitched. No, not even Babe Ruth. None of them.

Not only did Ohtani pitch, he dominated the team that had the most wins in the regular season for six scoreless innings in the pennant-clinching victory.

And if you’re curious, one pitcher in history has ever had a three-homer game in the regular season. It was Jim Tobin of the 1942 Braves. He went 3 for 4 with three homers and four RBI. He threw a complete game, too. He also allowed five runs (three earned), though. 

The bar is raised in the playoffs, too, you know? Teams are facing the best teams in the league with higher stakes than the regular season. 

You see where I’m going, right? 

Shohei Ohtani just played arguably the greatest baseball game anyone has ever played.