Why Can’t Shohei Ohtani Truly ‘Be Like Mike’?

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays open the World Series on Friday, but all eyes remain on Shohei Ohtani — and deservedly so. Last week, in the fourth game of the National League Championship Series, he led the Dodgers to a league title, hitting a staggering three home runs, while pitching 10 strikeouts and six scoreless innings. Following the game, Ohtani’s teammate Mookie Betts marveled to MLB TV: “We’re like the [Chicago] Bulls and he’s Michael Jordan.”

Betts was likely thinking in baseball terms, and he wasn’t wrong. Ohtani, like Jordan once did, is single-handedly turning his team into a perennial championship contender. But as the legend of Ohtani grows, it’s natural to ask whether he can achieve Jordan’s transcendent cultural status, too.