For me, the term “two way player” in baseball is defined by two Major League legends – the NY Yankee’s Babe Ruth and current Los Angeles Dodger (LAD) Shohei Ohtani. Its definition does not describe in any way how difficult it is to be a two way player. Merely, the definition of a two way player is simply a regular position player (DH or IF,OF,C) who is also a starting or relief pitcher. In Babe Ruth’s case, he had an incredible pitching career and then morphed into one of the most feared hitters in Major League Baseball history as a position player (mostly OF). In Shohei Ohtani’s case, Ohtani is pitching (when healthy) as well as operating as a designated hitter, a position in the lineup but not defensively. Also in Ohtani’s case, he is pitching and hitting in the same game like the old school National League used to do with starting Pitchers. Can we bring that back, please???

From what I can recall in my roughly 50 years of watching baseball, I cannot remember another mega-star who was both a Pitcher and a hitter/position player to the extent of Ruth and Ohtani. Did Satchel Paige hit as well as pitch, yes. Did Greg Maddux hit as well as pitch, yes. Did Henry Aaron pitch, no. Did Mike Schmidt pitch, no. Did Yaz pitch, heck no. How about Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, or Lou Brock, nope, nope, and nope. Neither did Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, nor has Mike Trout, Bryce Harper or Aaron Judge. I can go on and on but for the most part – when you are signed as a hitter, you became a hitter and the same as a pitcher. You may have pitched in Little League or hit in college, but once you are a professional player, you are a Pitcher or a Hitter. Case in point, Paul Skenes.

Skenes was the 2022 John Olerud Award winner for his efforts during the 2022 NCAA season at the Air Force Academy. The John Olerud Award is given to the top two way baseball player in the NCAA and has been awarded since 2010. Olerud himself was a fantastic pitcher and hitter at Washington State University. Olerud went on to have a prolific 17 year MLB career with the Toronto Blue Jays, NY Mets, Seattle Mariners as…a first baseman and hitter. His pitching stats in MLB do not exist because he never entered a single game as a Pitcher. Back to Skenes, who was a Catcher and a Pitcher at the Air Force Academy before transferring to LSU to finish his collegiate career, as a Pitcher only. Skenes stats for 2022 as a two way player – 10-3 on the mound, 96Ks, 2.73 ERA; .314 at the plate, 13HRs, 38RBI. If you follow MLB even 1/100000 as much as I do, you will know that Paul Skenes is now a Pittsburgh Pirate and is the most accomplished Starting Pitcher in all of Major League Baseball. And has not touch a bat in his professional career spanning 2 years.

Let’s look at current players to see if we can find a potentially next great two way player. How about LAD’s Mookie Betts? He has been a Gold Glove (defensive excellence award, MLB) winner in the OF for my Boston Red Sox as well as the Dodgers and will likely win Gold Gloves in the IF for the LAD at some point. Perhaps Betts versatility could translate into a mound visit? What about Skenes current Pirates teammate, CF Oneil Cruz? The Cruz Missile, I believe that is what MLB announcers call his home run shots and maybe his throws from the OF. Cruz has a rocket and a half for a right arm, throwing out runners from his CF position with literal ease. Perhaps, with a bit of tutelage from Skenes, Cruz could come in and fire a few rockets from the mound in the late innings of a close game. Or maybe a 3rd Baseman like Manny Machado or Nolan Arenado or Matt Chapman – those 3 can field a baseball in way foul territory, then plant and fire a missile across the diamond, over to first base and still nab even the fastest of runners trying to beat out a single. Could they be converted into a Pitcher and utilize their plus plus arms and accuracy? The answer to these and just about any other player scenario is the same – most likely no and never going to happen.

Babe Ruth didn’t become a two way player by accident. He was a great pitcher who was also a great hitter. Same can be said for Ohtani. Ohtani is a phenomenal pitcher and a generational hitter. Both Ruth and Ohtani are what most sportswriters refer to as “baseball unicorns.” Their ability to pitch and hit far exceeds the abilities of the average pitcher, who cannot hit and the average hitter, who cannot pitch. In Little League, you see players jump from the Shortstop (SS) position to the mound in any given game. In High School, you often see a position player thriving at the plate and is also used on the mound as a starter or reliever. One that comes to mind for me was Rhode Island’s Ken Giard. Giard (Tollgate High School, Warwick) played SS on most days and we were all thankful to see him there. Because when Giard pitched, he was unhittable. At the collegiate level, there is a long tradition of exceptional position players/hitters who performed above average on the mound. In recent years, you have collegiate stars like Brendan McKay, Jac Caglianone, and the aforementioned Paul Skenes who have won the John Olerud Award and only one, McKay, continued on as a two way player at the professional/MLB level. McKay was a Tampa Bay Ray minor leaguer for 99% of his career as a two way player but never made it to the Majors in that capacity, or as a simply a Pitcher or a Hitter.

The answer is simple to the question to posed. Where Will The Next Great Two Way Baseball Player Please Come From? I don’t think I will see another player the likes of Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani in my lifetime. It is incredibly special that I live in the Ohtani generation because what he is doing as a MLB player is so rare and unique, it literally took almost a century of time. Babe Ruth played in the Major League from 1914 – 1935 as a two way player. Nearly 100 years later, Shohei Ohtani hit 3 Home Runs in a game serving as the Designated Hitter and struck out 10 batters on the mound as the Starting Pitcher. The great two way baseball players of the sport happen so rare it took nearly a century for another to develop and emerge on the MLB grand stage. Great two way players in college do not translate into great professional two way players at the MLB level. A two way player becomes a one position player – either a hitter or a pitcher. Now that we have the Designated Hitter (DH) in both leagues, we will likely never know how good of a hitter a starting Pitcher is. Perhaps, the answer is in a current Pitcher who can hit the heck out of the baseball if given the chance? Simply answer to that – not a chance.

MLB fans, baseball fans, sports fans – enjoy the phenom that is Shohei Ohtani. He is a rare athlete who is an elite pitcher and feared hitter. He runs the bases well, shakes hands with the opposing team, and is, by most accounts, the best baseball story in the past 50 years in Major League Baseball. His ability to be a great two way player, like the legendary Babe Ruth once was, is as rare as any feat in any professional sport right now. He is Bo Jackson, Sandy Koufax, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods perfectly packaged in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform and he is about to unleash his greatness (again) to the world in the 2025 World Series set to start tomorrow night. What a talent.