MLB insider Tom Verducci hails Shohei Ohtani as MLB’s “long drive champion”, draws comparisons with Phil Mickelson’s swing

Tom Verducci compared the left-handed swinging ability of Shohei Ohtani with Phil Mickelson while hailing him as MLB's 'long drive champion'.

MLB insider Tom Verducci hails Shohei Ohtani as MLB’s “long drive champion”, draws comparisons with Phil Mickelson’s swing

Shohei Ohtani (L) and Phil Mickelson (R) [Image via Imago]

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has continued to amaze baseball fans with his incredible abilities. The Japanese international recently received praise from MLB insider Tom Verducci, who hailed him as the “long drive champion” of MLB while comparing his swinging ability with six-time golf major champion Phil Mickelson.

In the 2024 season, Ohtani founded the 50-50 club after hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases. While doing this, he slammed nine home runs that traveled over 450 feet.

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While discussing this on the MLB Network, Verducci pointed out that only the Colorado Rockies as a whole team hit more 450-foot home runs than Ohtani. He would also state that this was more than the trio of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton combined.

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Shohei Ohtani has more than every team that does not play at altitude. He’s got more than Judge, Stanton, and Soto combined. Shohei Ohtani is the long drive champion of Major League Baseball.

Tom Verducci said

The analyst would break down how Ohtani managed to do that. He would later explain how the two-way star uses his hips and launches the ball miles in the air like left-handed Phil Mickelson.

I think the key is that Shohei Ohtani has the fastest hips in baseball… Most power hitters think about that bottom-hand. He uses two hands for extension like another lefty, Phil Mickelson. I used the golfer as my comp for Shohei Otani because what he’s doing is it looks like he’s hitting Titleist not baseball.

Tom Verducci added

Mickelson has been known for his ability to hit the ball long in golf. The 45-time PGA Tour champion’s average driving distance is 302.5 yards, which makes him one of the best to swing a ball far away.

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Shohei Ohtani named Silver Slugger Award winner following historic debut season with Dodgers

Following his $700 million move to the Los Angeles Dodgers, all eyes of the baseball world were fixed on how Shohei Ohtani performed in his debut season. In his first year with the team, he broke several records and won the World Series. On Tuesday, he won another award as he was named a Silver Slugger.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)

Ohtani smashed 54 home runs and had 130 RBIs in the regular season while batting with a high average of .310. In the offseason, he hit three home runs and driver in ten runs.

He, along with his teammates, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez was named as a Silver Slugger award. This turned out to be his third Silver Slugger award, having won this honor in 2021 and 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.

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An interesting stat is that when Ohtani won the Silver Slugger award before, he went on to win the MVP award as well. This year, he once again finds himself in contention for the award. He will battle out Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks for this prestigious honor. The winners of this, along with the AL MVP, will be announced on November 21.