Negro Leagues had their own two-way stars Share 2:24 AM UTC share-square-69939 "Bullet Joe" Rogan, Martín Dihigo and Leon Day.(Art by Graig Kreindler, from the collection of Jay Caldwell) As Shohei Ohtani has renewed and expanded his rare role as a true two-way player for the Angels in 2021, the Babe Ruth comparisons have begun anew. To attempt to both hit and pitch at an elite level is to be the Babe’s “spiritual successor,” as the New York Post recently put it. And so when Ohtani, who has often been referred to as the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” became the first pitcher to hit a home run from somewhere other than the No. 8 or 9 spot in the lineup earlier this month, there was a rush to the record books to confirm that Ruth was the last to do it. And on Monday, Ohtani became the first player since Ruth (on June 13, 1921) to make a start while simultaneously leading the Majors in homers.