Bundle up, folks. We are about to revisit one of the coldest takes ever offered.
In March of 2018, Shohei Ohtani was in his first spring training with the Los Angeles Angels. It’s safe to say that at this point, whatever doubters Ohtani had then have been proven wrong. The guy is one of baseball’s best hitters and pitchers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018. In 2021, he added an MVP and a Silver Slugger. Really, that just scratches the surface. Ohtani is a transcendent player — one of the most special talents in Major League Baseball history.
On Tuesday, he added to his legacy. Ohtani closed out Japan’s victory in the World Baseball Classic. For the final out, he struck out his Angels teammate, fellow superstar, Mike Trout. When the tournament was over, Ohtani was named MVP.
Something else happened when the tournament was over. Baseball fans revisited a take from Keith Olbermann that was off the mark by a comical margin.
On March 6, 2018, Richard Justice, then of MLB.com, tweeted out an article with the caption, “Lots of @MLB GMs think we could have more 2-way players, probably in super utility roles. Olbermann didn’t see believe it and responded with a take that now is about as cold as an ice cube being dropped into the Arctic Ocean.
“Because that Christian Bethancourt thing worked soooo well,” Olbermann said. “Ohtani will be a pinch-hitting pitcher by mid-season.”
Because that Christian Bethancourt thing worked soooo well.
Ohtani will be a pinch-hitting pitcher by mid-season. https://t.co/jKN6981cBm
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 7, 2018
More than five years later, baseball fans took a lot of pleasure in reminding Olbermann that he missed — by a wide margin.
How’s this hot take working out for you?
— jay gordon 🦍 (@jaydestro) March 22, 2023
https://t.co/gXLMugLMYG pic.twitter.com/6JVQ8h99NL
— Giles Ferrell (@gilesferrell) March 22, 2023
How does he keep getting owned? https://t.co/ocXj975mtv
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) March 22, 2023
This is an all-timer https://t.co/Vf9tUEzo2A
— Alex (@alexwATL) March 22, 2023
— Chris Towers is the Riley Greene Preservation Soc (@CTowersCBS) March 22, 2023
https://t.co/ECeTQUWANC pic.twitter.com/qvLEfP1qcD
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) March 22, 2023
Ok, one more time. https://t.co/u7tQsftYqy
— Christopher Crawford (@Crawford_MILB) March 22, 2023
Olbermann, at the time of this writing, had yet to say anything on Twitter about Ohtani’s performance, or anything related to the final game between Japan and the United States. That’s probably for the best, given how asinine his takes on the WBC had previously been.
We do have to give Olbermann some credit for leaving the tweet up, more than five years later. Unless, in his stubbornness, he’s waiting to find the moment to tweet that he was right.
At the very least, we can hope that Olbermann leaves this tweet up through the season. Summer is coming and if you ever need to cool down, being able to open this tweet should do the job.
