The debate around Shohei Ohtani's role this season is missing the bigger picture—and it's time to set the record straight.

After a dominant pitching performance on Wednesday, where Ohtani threw a gem for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the conversation has once again turned to whether he should be doing more at the plate. MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds argued that Ohtani's focus on pitching is hurting his MVP case, especially since he wasn't in the lineup as a hitter that day and is expected to sit out again Thursday before returning to DH on Friday.

But let's take a step back. Yes, it would be incredible if Ohtani could hit in all 162 games while also taking the mound. But here's what everyone seems to be glossing over: in a world where Ohtani starts 30 games as a pitcher and hits in 130 more, he's still providing 130 games of superstar-level offense that no other starting pitcher in the league can offer. And right now, he's not just any pitcher—he's pitching as well as anyone, with a microscopic 0.82 ERA.

Think about it this way: before Ohtani came along, if you told a team their ace would also hit 27 home runs in a season on his days off, wouldn't you take that in a heartbeat? He's fundamentally changed the calculus of value in baseball, even if only for himself. A player who can deliver 30 quality starts on the mound and be a lethal leadoff hitter in more than half of his team's other games is still the most valuable player on the field—by a wide margin.

Even Babe Ruth never did what Ohtani is doing. The Bambino was a pitcher first, then a hitter, with very little overlap—aside from the fact that he'd always hit for himself when he pitched. But in today's game, Ruth's two-way career looks nothing like Ohtani's.

So sure, maybe it feels like a step back for Ohtani to not hit every single day. But when you're stepping back from the center of the baseball universe, you can still land somewhere no one else has ever been.