Brad Paisley Just Settled The Babe Ruth Debate With Three Words

Baseball fans have debated for years whether anyone could ever match the greatness of Babe Ruth.

The argument heated up when Shohei Ohtani burst onto the scene as a two-way phenomenon.

And Grammy-winning country star Brad Paisley just ended the Babe Ruth vs. Shohei Ohtani debate with three brutally honest words.

Country Music Legend Speaks For Baseball Fans Everywhere

Brad Paisley appeared on MLB Tonight and didn't mince words when the hosts brought up the eternal question comparing baseball's past and present greatest players.

The country music icon has watched plenty of baseball over the decades.

He's performed the national anthem at multiple World Series games including recent Dodgers playoff contests that went deep into extra innings.

That gave Paisley a front-row seat to see what Ohtani does night after night.

When MLB Tonight asked him to weigh in on the Babe Ruth vs. Shohei Ohtani question, Paisley cut through all the nostalgic mythology.

"Look, none of us were around to see Babe Ruth do what he did, but it wasn't this," Paisley stated.¹

He didn't stop there.

"There's no way it was this. You get spoiled watching Shohei Ohtani," Paisley added.¹

Former Teammate Reveals The Insane Ohtani Training Regimen

Those words carry weight because they reflect what anyone who watches Ohtani play already knows deep down.

The Japanese superstar doesn't just pitch and hit at an elite level.

He dominates both sides of baseball with a work ethic that borders on superhuman.

Former Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Moustakas appeared on the Diggin' Deep podcast and pulled back the curtain on Ohtani's daily routine that makes his two-way dominance possible.

"All the other days he wasn't pitching, he was in the weight room," Moustakas explained. "His routine was insane. He had it mapped out to the minute."²

Moustakas revealed that Ohtani planned every single minute of his training down to the second.

"Every minute you knew Ohtani was gonna be at it in the training rooms, in the weight room, doing arm care," Moustakas said.²

The routine didn't stop there.

"Rarely did Shohei Ohtani come out and hit BP on the field. He comes down to the cage, does a 30-minute routine in the cage; then he'd be ready to go," Moustakas recalled.²

On days when Ohtani pitched, the schedule got even crazier.

"On his start days, he'd be a starting pitcher and then, 30 minutes before, 20 minutes before, after he's done warming up, he comes down to the cage, gets his swings in, does his routine and then he's ready to rock," Moustakas explained. "It was insane."²

That level of dedication explains how Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.

Numbers Don't Lie About Ohtani's Historic Greatness

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2023 season.

That deal shattered every previous record for the largest contract in professional sports history.

He won his third MVP award unanimously in 2024 after creating the 50-50 club during his first season with the Dodgers.

Ohtani accomplished that milestone while recovering from Tommy John surgery and not pitching at all.

The Dodgers won the 2024 World Series in Ohtani's first postseason appearance after years of futility with the Angels.

In 2025, Ohtani returned to pitching and set a Dodgers franchise record with 55 home runs in a single season while also dominating on the mound.

He won his fourth MVP award unanimously and became the only player in baseball history to win multiple MVP awards in both leagues.

The Dodgers captured back-to-back World Series championships with Ohtani earning the 2025 NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in Game 4.

Babe Ruth played in a segregated era when pitchers threw slower and teams traveled by train instead of plane.

Ruth never faced the level of competition that exists in modern baseball where every pitcher throws 95+ mph with devastating breaking pitches.

Comparing athletes across different eras always requires accounting for how the game evolved.

Brad Paisley spoke for fans who watch Ohtani dominate baseball in ways nobody has ever seen before.

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¹ "Grammy winner Brad Paisley settles the Babe Ruth vs Shohei Ohtani question," Sportskeeda, December 2024.

² Ibid.