Shohei Ohtani had what many consider to be the best game in MLB history on Friday, but the Los Angeles Dodgers star has some competition.
Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched six scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. The two-way superstar essentially punched L.A.’s ticket to the World Series by himself, as the Game 4 win completed an NLCS sweep for the Dodgers.
One of Ohtani’s home runs was such a prolific blast that it left his teammates in disbelief.
While Ohtani’s performance was otherworldly by any metric, there have been some throughout history that were comparable. One was on June 23, 1971, when former All-Star pitcher Rick Wise threw a no-hitter, struck out 12 batters and hit two home runs for the Philadelphia Phillies. That performance came against the legendary Cincinnati Reds team that was led by Pete Rose.
Another player who had a game similar to Ohtani’s was four-time World Series champion pitcher Tony Cloninger. On July 3, 1966, Cloninger hit two grand slams and threw a complete game in a 17-3 win for the Braves over the San Francisco Giants.
This and Tony Cloninger throwing a complete game in the same game he hit two grand slams are the only real candidates. Ohtani’s is the best in the last half-century at least. It’s a wonderful debate. How much of a bump does Ohtani get for it being a pennant-clinching performance?
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 18, 2025
One difference with Ohtani’s performance is that it came during in the playoffs in a clinching game. It is also far less common in today’s MLB for pitchers to do anything of note at the plate, as the designated hitter is universal across baseball.
Everyone was in awe of Ohtani’s monster game, though some fans were angry at a certain team over it.
