Ohtani was supposed to usher in a two-way player revolution. A rule change may be preventing it
It wasn't supposed to be this way. When Ohtani debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, other teams had seemingly warmed to the idea of allowing players to pursue mastery both on the mound and at the plate. But years later, even with several two-way players selected in the higher rounds in recent MLB Drafts, Ohtani remains MLB's only two-way player.
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The reasons for that aren't clear-cut, say team executives and players who have attempted to hit and pitch at the big-league level. They point to the physical and mental strain of doing both, noting that it can be too great for players to bear over the course of a full season. Others believe the injury risk remains too great to justify what might be a minimal return on investment.
And then there's another theory, one predicated on the extremely high bar Ohtani has set for two-way players: If you're not him, the thought goes, then what's the point of even trying?
'Shohei kind of came in and he's like the Babe Ruth of hitting and pitching,' said the Kansas City Royals' Michael Lorenzen, who has been a two-way player at points in his career but hasn't done both since 2021. 'Now you're like, that's the bar. How much value is there in someone who's just above average at both? I think if that's proven by someone that it's really valuable, then a lot more people will do it.'
Average, of course, is not an easy standard to reach in the big leagues. As a pitcher, Lorenzen has a 104 ERA+, slightly above league average over the course of his 11-year career. But his 84 OPS+ at the plate made him a below-average hitter.
Then there's a matter of opportunity. During his time at Cal State Fullerton, Lorenzen batted .324/.394/.478 as a center fielder and went 5-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 35 saves as the Titans closer. Once he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2013, he was told that the quickest way for him to make it to the major leagues was with his arm rather than his bat.
That holds true for many prospects coming up who want to be two-way players. According to an NL scout, by the time a player is drafted and signed, the team is '99 percent' sure on whether that player will hit or pitch if they did both at a previous level. Because these players' lifelong dream is to make it to the majors, they usually follow the team's advice to get there.
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And then there was Ohtani, who came to America after five seasons as a two-way star in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
'Shohei had all the leverage in the world,' Lorenzen said. 'He proved it in a different, high-caliber league, and he came over early so he was a discount (salary-wise) to everyone when he did come over. He got to make every decision of like, this is what I want to do.'
Lorenzen would get chances only sparingly to show that he was capable of playing both sides of the ball. Against the Phillies in September 2019, he became only the second player in history to hit a home run, earn a win and play in the field in the same game. The other player to do that was Babe Ruth back in 1921. Lorenzen's last plate appearance came in 2021.
Other two-way players haven't had as many opportunities as Lorenzen did to do both. Former Angels first baseman and right fielder Jared Walsh — a teammate of Ohtani's with the Angels — only got to pitch in five blowout games over his six-year major-league career, all in 2019.
Brendan McKay, the No. 4 pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, was a three-time recipient of the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award in college. He was developed as a two-way player in the minor leagues but injuries have limited him to just 49 big-league innings as a pitcher and 10 major-league at-bats (he homered in one of them), all of those coming in 2019.
More recently, the New York Mets' Nolan McLean spent his first two minor league seasons pitching and hitting. However, his path toward the majors seemed clearer as a pitcher and he decided to choose that route. It paid off with McLean now the Mets' No. 3 prospect.
Though the Mets have yet to develop a player who hit and pitched in the big leagues, they haven't been shy about drafting two-way players. In addition to McLean (a third-round pick in 2023), the Mets took Carson Benge and Mitch Voit with their first picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, respectively, and announced both as two-way players. Benge has been exclusively a position player since turning pro and has already reached Triple A, while Voit also is expected to focus on second base.
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The Mets are hardly alone among clubs who have seemingly been intrigued enough by the possibility of developing a two-way player to draft them and announce them as two-way players on draft day. The San Francisco Giants used first-round picks on Reggie Crawford (2022) and Bryce Eldridge (2023) and announced both as two-way players, but Crawford has been slowed by injuries and has primarily been a pitcher, while Eldridge showed such early promise as a hitter he hasn't thrown an official professional inning.
Arguably the most famous player in last year's draft class was No. 6 pick Jac Caglianone, who went to the Royals. A two-way star at Florida, Caglianone was dubbed the 'Ohtani of college baseball.' But he, too, has found a one-way track to the major leagues as a position player.
So the question remains, with all of this two-way talent in college and professional baseball, why haven't we seen anyone join Ohtani as a two-way player in the major leagues the past few years? Part of the reason could come down to the complication of creating a development plan for a player who pitches and hits. But the main blockade could boil down to MLB roster rules.
Starting in 2020, a new MLB rule altered who qualified to have the two-way classification on an official roster. To earn the distinction, a player would need to pitch in 20 MLB innings and play in at least 20 MLB games as a position player or DH, with at least three plate appearances in each game in either the current or previous MLB season.
This distinction matters because those designated as two-way players would not count toward the limit of 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster. The designation would essentially allow teams to carry an extra pitcher on the roster.
That same rule stunted Jake Cronenworth's growth as a two-way player. The San Diego Padres infielder was a two-way player in college during his time at Michigan. When he was drafted by the Rays, he got reps pitching in Triple A and even threw bullpen sessions later when he was acquired by the Padres. But since making it to the majors, he has only pitched once, in a game that went into extra-innings against the Dodgers in 2021.
'Why does somebody need to qualify for something they've already proven they can do in college or the minor leagues?' Cronenworth asked. 'And all of a sudden they have to qualify to do it in the major leagues? To me, that doesn't make any sense. Now you're taking away this guy's natural ability to do two things at a high level, and now you have to make them basically earn it again?'
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Outside of earning the two-way classification, the only way a hitter would be able to pitch in a game or vice versa would be in a game that goes to extra innings or when their team is either winning or trailing by six runs or more in a contest.
'You could go four games where you have that,' Cronenworth said. 'You could go three weeks where you never have that. So you're getting put on the roster as a hitter but you're a two-way guy and you can only pitch in certain situations. But if you put a guy on the roster as a pitcher, now you're taking away that bullpen spot. That was really the thing that hurt all the (two-way) guys.'
Even with Cronenworth's two-way dreams stalling out, he still believes that there is a place for it even if it's not at the level of what Ohtani has been doing.
'Another value,' Cronenworth said, 'is you have your bench guy who comes in, makes a start sometimes, pinch-hitter at the end of the game but also available in the bullpen. So now you kind of have this kind of super-utility bench guy who's playing 150 games a year, some as a pitcher, some as a hitter. I think that would be the next-best thing.'
Some players had a choice. Coming out of high school, Reds right-hander Hunter Greene was touted as a big two-way star. The Reds believed in his potential, selecting him with the second pick in the 2017 draft.
But because of that high selection, in addition to his coming out of high school versus college or another league, he and the Reds decided to cut short his two-way development.
'In today's game, it's a lot harder to develop hitters, especially high school hitters,' said Shawn Pender, the Reds' vice president of player development. 'There's a lot of things that go into it that are difficult, more difficult than a pitcher. (Greene) knew what he needed to do from a secondary pitch standpoint, so his path to the big leagues is certainly going to be quicker than if you were to be a high school hitter that is now trying to do both.'
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Caglianone followed a similar route to Greene by taking the advice of the team to get to the majors quicker, and it paid off with him getting called up less than a year after being drafted.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach showed promise as a two-way player in college, culminating in his winning the John Olerud Award in 2021. Despite that, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he had to choose.
He had people in his corner urging him to choose one or the other, but ultimately Schwellenbach made the decision based on his own personal experiences. After getting Tommy John surgery following his junior year of college, he knew that the physical demands on a two-way player in college were simply too much for him.
'It's not a good recipe to stay healthy,' Schwellenbach said. 'Doing both is almost impossible, especially if you're gonna play a position and pitch. There's not enough time to heal up in between starts and get enough work in to play both positions.'
Injury risk, according to players and execs, another significant reason for the lack of two-way players. Royals reliever Lucas Erceg was drafted as a power-hitting third baseman out of college. In 2021, he'd pitch in Double A one or-two times a week and either play first, third or DH upwards of five times a week.
Erceg soon felt soreness in his pitching arm. And during at-bats, whenever he'd swing over a change-up, he'd hyperextend his elbow slightly. Before long, Erceg committed fully to pitching after realizing his body simply couldn't hold up.
Even Ohtani isn't immune to overuse injuries. He's had two major elbow surgeries within five years. And during a recent start, the Dodgers star exited the game after throwing six straight balls. Ohtani cited cramping in his right hip as the issue.
One NL scout believes that moments like these are why teams are hesitant to let more of their guys become two-way players.
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'It all goes back to the number one fear: injury,' the NL scout said. 'Teams are scared to risk hurting their best hitter or one of their best hitters.'
The scout cited another reason for Ohtani's standing as baseball's only two-way player: the belief that kids tend to specialize earlier more today than they did in the past.
'I think we're a pick-one society more today than we used to be,' the scout said. 'We're very big at categorizing right away.'
Still, players such as Lorenzen still want to give playing both ways a try, even insisting he has no problem going down to Triple A to take at-bats to prove he still has what it takes. Caglianone said he'd be 'lying' if he still didn't think about the possibility of being a two-way player. But despite the interest, Ohtani stands alone as the sole two-way star in today's game.
'I'm sure we can look forward to having another two-way player in the future,' Ohtani said through his interpreter Will Ireton. 'When that time comes, I'll be excited as much as that person will be too. In that sense I'm just excited for that kind of possibility.'
But, for now, that possibility seems remote.
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New York Times
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Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
39 minutes ago
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Why Kenneth Walker III could be the biggest beneficiary of the Seahawks' new offense
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HOUSE. 🏠 📺: #SEAvsLAC on FOX📱: Stream on NFL+ — NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022 Over the past two seasons, Walker has run behind bad offensive lines and played for coordinators committed to pass-centric offenses. It's hard for any running back to thrive under those circumstances. Sure, Walker can turn nothing into something as well as anyone, but Seattle can't build an offensive identity around his improvisational skills. Walker and all the other running backs must be able to trust that their blockers will create creases and allow them to generate explosive plays. Advertisement Seattle's offensive lines haven't been reliable in that way. There are 44 NFL running backs with at least 200 carries over the past two seasons. Walker's carries have gone for zero or negative yards at the fifth-highest rate (21.5 percent). Charbonnet has the eighth-highest rate (20.6). Charbonnet ranks 32nd in yards before contact per carry in that span, and Walker ranks 39th. Simply having a league-average run blocking unit would do wonders for Seattle's running backs this season. Walker has been dealing with foot soreness and appears to be on a maintenance schedule that sprinkles in days off. He was a full participant in Tuesday's padded practice, but it's unclear if he'll suit up with the rest of the starters against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night. 'We have a plan for Ken, and we're sticking to the plan,' coach Mike Macdonald said of Walker being in and out of the lineup during camp. Still, there were encouraging signs from the first-team offense in the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. The starters up front were, from left to right: Josh Jones, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford and Abe Lucas. That unit played two drives and paved the way for George Holani to rush for 61 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts. It's not hard to envision what Walker would be able to do if the blocking were that effective with him on the field. Rookie fullback Robbie Outzs impacted the run game against the Raiders, and his presence should also help Walker. A fair critique of Walker's game to this point is his inconsistent vision, as he does not always hit runs as designed. With Ouzts leading the way, Walker's job should be even easier. He said playing with a fullback is like having an 'extra set of eyes' in the run game. The scheme is running-back-friendly in that way. Advertisement 'If I don't see it, and if he can see it, I can just follow him, and he just takes me,' Walker said. 'Even if we don't hit the right hole, if we hit it 100 percent, it still can make the play.' It's difficult to project how running back carries will be split. The last two offensive coordinators have treated Walker like the lead guy and Charbonnet as the backup on early downs. Charbonnet is the better pass protector, so he has gotten most of the snaps in obvious passing situations and two-minute drills. The setup should be similar this season, given how explosive Walker has looked in practice. But it's worth noting that when Kubiak was asked during a KIRO-AM radio interview to list the qualities that make up an elite running back in today's game, he spoke highly of Charbonnet. 'No. 1 is intelligence,' Kubiak said. 'No. 2 is availability, guys that are available the whole game. The best backs I've been around are super smart. Guys that you give them difficult game plans, and they can go out and make adjustments. Our top two guys are doing really good things, but Charbonnet, his mental approach to the game is extremely impressive. He does not flinch. If he ever has a question, you know you didn't coach it good enough, because he's that on it.' The availability piece will be key for Walker, who was limited to just 11 games last season due to oblique, ankle and calf injuries (he was inactive only four times in his first two years). Kyle Shanahan's 49ers are often used as a point of reference when describing Seattle's new scheme. Another good comparison, especially when assessing Walker's home run potential, is what the scheme has done for speedsters like De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert in Miami. The Dolphins' usage of fullback Alec Ingold in that perimeter-based run game illustrates what this offense can do for Walker, health permitting. 'I know (Walker) hasn't been to every practice, but the ones he's been able to attend, you see the flashes of his talent,' Kubiak said Tuesday. 'He was out there today making plays in the pass game and the run game. I see him continuing to get better with reps.' Advertisement Even if Walker doesn't play Friday night, Seattle's second preseason game is another good test for the first-team offense (I don't expect left tackle Charles Cross or center Olu Oluwatimi to play). A second consecutive outing running the ball effectively would offer another data point to suggest that this year will be different. And if so, that's great news for Walker, who's entering the final year of his rookie deal. 'I just want to be positive and keep my mind on football and not a contract and all that,' Walker said. 'I just want to make a positive impact on my team and go out there and play to the best of my ability. That's what I've been wanting to do from my rookie year until now. I'm going to just keep that same mindset and not worry about (my) contract and everything.' As for playing in a run-first offense in a contract year, Walker said: 'There's more opportunities for me to show what I can do on the field.' Spot the pattern. 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