After ranking behind Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, superstar shortstop explains his mindset moving forward

Shohei Ohtani of the LA Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees are arguably the best players in the NL and AL. Both enter the new season having enjoyed an incredible 2024, taking home an MVP award each.

Another player that had a superb season was Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Finishing with a .332 batting average, 32 home runs and 109 RBIs, he earned his first career All-Star selection, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger award and batting title.

Witt was also third on the list of the top 100 MLB players, posted by MLB Network in February. Speaking to insider Chris Rose about his reaction, he talked about how seeing his name behind two greats motivated him to keep on working on his craft.

"You take it (ranking) with a grain of salt," Witt said on Monday (19:00), via 'JM Baseball.' "You're in this position, it gives you confidence and comfortability (about) where you're at. But also, there's always more room to improve, and I think that who I am and just how I work, I always want to get better each and every day, each and every year.

"So, I think there's always more motivation (to keep improving). "It's really cool, but then it's also like writing on the wall, now you got to go make something happen."

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MLB analyst commends Shohei Ohtani's versatility, says he 'has all the tools to do anything in a baseball field'

Alongside being one of the best, if not the best hitter in all of baseball, Shohei Ohtani is also capable of dominating as a pitcher.

Speaking about the Japanese international's remarkable skill set, MLB analyst Jeff Passan praised his versatility, and how he is willing to adapt according to his team's requirements.

"(What) Shohei Ohtani does better than anything is that he fits himself into where his skills are at (a certain) point," Passan said on Friday (27:00), via 'The Ryan Rusillo Podcast.' "He has all the tools in the world. (Ohtani) can do anything on the baseball field. But last year, he couldn't pitch, so he needed to become a different player. He is the ultimate chameleon.

"This year, we hopefully get to see the apex version of himself wherein he's still an elite-level pitcher and remains one of the best bats in the big leagues."

Ohtani was once again at his best as the Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo to give their season the perfect start.