Is Shohei Ohtani the smartest baseball player in the game today? Phil Nevin lauds IQ of LA Angels superstar

Shohei Ohtani is not your average baseball player. Since bursting into the MLB in 2018, Ohtani has amassed 127 home runs and 342 RBIs. He has also made 63 career starts on the mound and will likely strike out the 500th batter of his career this season.

Any player who possesses such otherworldly two-way abilities needs to understand the game. As Ohtani demonstrates time and again, he is a student of baseball before anything else.

In a recent piece written by Ken Rosenthal for The Athletic, Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin spoke about Ohtani's otherworldly baseball IQ:

“He’s probably the smartest baseball player I’ve been around in my entire career.”

"Phil Nevin is not concerned about trade rumors impacting Shohei Ohtani." - @ MLB Network Radio on Xirius XM

Formerly the Los Angeles Angels' third-base coach, Phil Nevin was installed in the managerial role last June. His ascension to the role came after the dismissal of Joe Maddon in the midst of a franchise-worst 13 game losing streak.

""He rcarried us on his back" Angels manager Phil Nevin on Shohei Ohtani" - @ shoheisaveus

Nevin noted how Ohtani studies both the batters and pitchers that he faces, and has an immense wealth of scouting information at his disposal. Nevin compared Shohei Ohtani to another Angel, Mike Trout, who has three MVP Awards under his belt.

“Shohei leads the league every year in times from home to first. Nobody really talks about that, and it’s not because he’s that fast. He is, but he hits a comebacker to the mound when it’s not his pitch day, and he’s hauling a** down the line. Mike does the same thing. Those are things I never have to worry about. It bleeds into our whole team.”

In his piece, Rosenthal points out that Ohtani did indeed lead the MLB in average time from home plate to first base. He had the best time in the MLB in 2022, averaging just 4.9 seconds. In 2021, he was second only to Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton.

Shohei Ohtani will continue to be the Angels' standout player as rumors swirl

Shoei Ohtani's team, the LA Angels, have been criticized for not doing more to keep him around. This comes after a 2022 season in which Ohtani came second in the AL MVP Award voting for another spectacular season - both defensively and offensively.

Shohei Ohtani's brilliance was on full display yesterday when he cranked two home runs in World Baseball Classic pre-tournament play.

Ohtani is expected to garner offers of up to $500 million when he enters the free agency market. For now, as Phil Nevin knows, he is focusing on being the best he can be for a team that is now staring down a decade-long postseason drought.