Shohei Ohtani's brilliant performance in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series led one former MVP to issue an apology.

During Fox's pregame show before Game 4 of the World Series, Alex Rodriguez was asked about recovering from an 18-inning game and playing the next day. He said comparing how he would handle it to how the Dodgers superstar would wasn't fair because, "I'm human and Ohtani's not."

"You know, Major League Baseball is the greatest, the baddest, the most amazing league around the world of baseball. I now want to take an opportunity to apologize to Shohei Ohtani because he belongs in a higher league if this is all we have to offer," Rodriguez said. "But in all seriousness, this is uncharted territory... we've never seen this before and we'll probably never see this again."

That's high praise from Rodriguez, who, like Ohtani, was a three-time MVP and won a World Series in 2009.

Shohei Ohtani's historic Game 3 numbers

Ohtani was incredible during L.A.'s 6–5 win in the 18-inning marathon that was Game 3. He was 4-for-4, with two home runs and two doubles, then the Blue Jays smartened up and stopped pitching to him. Toronto walked him in each of his next five at-bats, four times intentionally. He reached base nine times, which is an MLB postseason record and tied the all-time record.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider all but said his team would continue walking Ohtani when his up rather than pitch to him moving forward.

Ohtani set several records during Game 3, including becoming the first player with two home runs and two doubles in a postseason game. He is also the first player to have five walks in a World Series game, while becoming the first player in MLB history to have four hits and five walks in a game, regular season or postseason.

The soon-to-be four-time MVP is also the first player to have four extra-base hits in a World Series game since White Sox second baseman Frank Isbell smacked four doubles against the Cubs in the 1906 Fall Classic.

It's not hard to see why Rodriguez is so in awe of what Ohtani is doing.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Rodriguez: Shohei Ohtani's Talent Transcends What the MLB Has to Offer.