What are we watching here?

I've been watching baseball for a long time. I've been a fan for possibly longer, and growing up in a Yankees household from my dad, and a Dodgers household from my mom, lead me to being overtly familiar with "Evil Empires(TM)" charges. But...

I've been blessed with watching Jeter kick ass forever in the highest leverage positions. Watching Big Mo kill it every single time except for one. Watching Matsui go-go-Godzilla it in 2009. I got the complicated extra-inning Grand Slam from Freddie last year, matching the excitement of Kirk Gibson back in '88. The Maier-assisted home-run...the Flip Play...Mr. November stuff---and that's all from Jeter.

But what are we seeing now?

I wrote last year about hyperbole and Shohei Ohtani, and somehow this past Friday he topped himself. He had...what, the BEST single game someone can have? Maybe it wasn't clinching the World Series, but holy hell!

First inning, as the starting pitcher, he was on the mound. He walked the first batter, then promptly struck out the side. Three strikeouts in a row. I captured a screenshot showing just how crazy his pitches can be. This was the called third strike for out number 2:

I mean...what can you do with that? Lower outside corner, 100 mph...Seriously WTF? Out number 1 was a swinging whiff. Out number two was this called third-strike above. Out number 3 was another swinging whiff. 

Okay, so far so good. Lots of pitchers have been ass-kickers and dominant to open a game. Big deal. Well, none of them did what he did next: Shohei walked over to the dugout once the top half of the inning was over, dropped his glove, put on his elbow armor, grabbed his helmet and bat, and strolled out to the batter's box to lead off the game for the Dodgers.

Then he hit a 400+ foot homer. His next at bat he hit a homer out of Dodger Stadium. Out of the stadium. The number ascribed to the homer was 469 feet, but it felt like 600. THEN HE HIT ANOTHER HOMER.

In the end, Shohei Ohtani gave up less hits as a pitcher, 2, than homeruns he hit as a batter, 3. He struck out 10 batters, which has happened maybe a dozen times in playoff history. He hit 3 homers in a playoff game, which has happened less than a half-dozen times.

But he did it in the same game.

I'm not sure how long it will take after he retires for us to truly appreciate his game, but I'm going to try to appreciate it right now, as he looks like Babe Ruth mixed with Walter Johnson, being the best of both types of players.

This is really happening...going 50-50 last year and winning the World Series in his first year with the Dodgers was not the high point...?