"He will have a hard time" - When Yu Darvish claimed Shohei Ohtani won't succeed as a two-way player in MLB

There was a lot of hype surrounding Shohei Ohtani ahead of his transition to Major League Baseball. Two-way players in this league are rare and fans were excited to see how he would handle that.

The last two-way player to pitch at least 100 innings and have 200 plate appearances was Babe Ruth. However, there have been others like Michael Lorenzen and Brenden McKay in the past, but they saw limited action.

Yu Darvish, somebody who had experience in the league and trained with Ohtani. He was a little skeptical that Ohtani would find the success that many people were expecting.

"If he wants to go to the Major League, he will defintiely have a hard time. He can't go to Major League Baseball [as a] two-way. If he thinks about himself, he [has] to focus on one or the other," said Darvish.

Darvish did not believe Ohtani would find success as a two-way player. He believed that Ohtani should have focused on just pitching.

"Pitching, because there are many batters in MLB who have strong shoulders, fast legs, and power," said Darvish.

Darvish saw the potential in Ohtani to shine more as a pitcher, and that is where his focus should have been. Luckily, Ohtani never took this advice.

Yu Darvish could not have been more wrong about Shohei Ohtani

MLB - Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish (Photo via IMAGN)

None of this was meant to disrespect Shohei Ohtani. Yu Darvish was just speaking his mind and wanted the best for his fellow countrymen. Despite this, he took a subtle shot at Ohtani's offensive abilities.

"Ordinary people have a strong image that Ohtani is a pitcher who can throw 100 mph, no one would say he's a home-run hitter" said Darvish.

Darvish could not have been more wrong on that. Especially with Ohtani's performance this past season, just focusing on his offense as the Los Angeles Dodgers DH.

Through 159 regular-season games, Ohtani hit .310/390/.646 with a career-high 54 home runs and 130 runs batted in. He led the National League in a handful of offensive categories, taking home his third MVP Award, four if you count his NPB career.

Those numbers are likely to take a bit of a hit next season when he is expected to return to the mound in 2025. But, he will still be a valuable bat in the Dodgers' lineup as they look to defend their World Series title.