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President Donald Trump has compared Los Angeles Dodger star Shohei Ohtani to one of the greatest ever, Babe Ruth.
The Dodgers visited the White House on Thursday afternoon while they were away on their East Coast tour where Trump saw Ohtani's incredible accomplishments.
“The 2025 Dodger season was one for the record books in the 150 years of Major League Baseball. No player has ever won more than one unanimous league MVP, except for an international legend named Shohei Ohtani,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump holds a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey with his name and number 47 during a ceremony honoring the 2025 World Champions in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2026. (Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)
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“He's amazing. He's amazing. Everybody loves him. Last year, Shohei did the unthinkable. Nobody thought it was possible. He collected his third straight league MVP with a franchise-record 55 home runs. And if you could tell me you could be the best pitcher and the best hitter at the same time, you know, Babe Ruth was very close to Babe.”
Throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Ohtani's impressive career peaked, as he hit 99 home runs across 2024 and 2025, leading the National League with a 1.025 OPS during that span.
Ohtani missed 2024 after elbow surgery but returned to action last year and had a 2.87 ERA and 11.9 strikeouts in 2022, leading the American League.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony honoring the 2025 World Series champion Dodgers in the Rose Garden of the White House Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Ohtani, dubbed by many the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” is the only player in MLB history to have more than 300-plus plate appearances and more than 40-plus innings in six different seasons. Ruth only did it twice and didn't steal 50 bases.
Trump called the Boston Red Sox's trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees the worst trade in sports history.
“Babe was 19 years old. They considered it the worst trade in sports history. I'd say Babe will always say, 'Take that.' He was 19 and they got a 36-year-old third baseman and $100,000, so I'd rate that pretty bad. They chose him as a pitcher, but he did something very unusual. He was leading the league in home runs as a pitcher. That's what you have to do,” Trump said while pointing to Ohtani.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Miguel Rojas and Shohei Ohtani react as President Donald Trump hosts the 2025 MLB World Series champions in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 23, 2026, in Washington, DC The Dodgers defeated the Blue Jays in seven games to win their second consecutive World Series title and ninth overall. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In 1920, the Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan for Fenway Park.
Ohtani is in the midst of another breakout season. As a hitter, he has a .283 batting average with 22 home runs, 60 RBIs and six stolen bases in 94 games.
As a pitcher, he is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, but recently missed a start with a knee problem. Ohtani will look to lead the Dodgers to a third consecutive World Series title with a strong second half.
Fox News' Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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