Dodgers' Mookie Betts Says He's a Better Athlete Than Shohei Ohtani, 'Not Even Close'

Even though Shohei Ohtani is inarguably the best player on the Los Angeles Dodgers, the question of who is the best athlete on the team has raised some debate for the reigning World Series champs.

Speaking to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal about the topic, Mookie Betts definitively declared himself to be a better overall athlete than Ohtani.

"Me," Betts said when asked the question. "Not even close."

The eight-time All-Star did elaborate on his answer:

"If we’re talking about does he run fast, does he jump high and stuff, Shohei would win that. But, as far as like, pure coordination skills, I don’t think it’s remotely close. I feel like it’s just what I do. It’s just what God blessed me with."

Ohtani certainly looks like a player you would create on MLB The Show. He is 6'3" and 210 pounds, with long limbs that allow him to move like a gazelle. He has the supernatural ability to be the best hitter and pitcher on the planet when he's healthy enough to do both.

Betts is no slouch with a listed height-weight combination at 5"10 and 180 pounds, though the latter doesn't account for a recent illness that caused him to lose more than 20 pounds that he's still trying to get back.

It's a testament to Betts' unique athletic ability he was able to hit two homers in a game, including a walk-off three-run shot, against the Detroit Tigers on March 28 in his second game back after the illness.

Both players are multifaceted on the diamond. Ohtani finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 and has a 3.01 ERA in 481.2 innings as a pitcher.

Betts has played games at second base, shortstop and right field over the past three seasons. Even though he wasn't great as an infielder, his advanced stats show he was passable.

If you judge athleticism by a person's ability to play different sports at a high level, Betts would seem to have an advantage. He is a high-level bowler with a 300-game in the PBA World Series of Bowling.

Betts has also taken part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2022, with the PGA Tour's official website listing him as having a 10 handicap.

Betts added pickleball to his non-baseball rotation last year.

While there's not a lot of public information about Ohtani's other sports interests outside of baseball, his high school baseball coach in Japan once said the three-time MVP was so fast as a swimmer that he could have made it to the Olympics if he took it up full-time.

Ohtani's father was a baseball player in Japan, and his mother played badminton, per MLB.com's Doug Miller.

Rosenthal noted Dodgers players gave Betts the slight edge over Ohtani as the best athlete on the team, though it was acknowledged they have never seen Ohtani play anything other than baseball.

Unfortunately for the rest of MLB, the Dodgers have both of them on their roster, along with several other players who are still performing at an All-Star level.