Former MLB star Alex Rodriguez meets the press at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Nov. 18, 2024. (Kyodo)

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Former Major League Baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez said Monday that Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is the most unique player in the history of the game.

“Think of a guy that is 6’4″, is the fastest guy on the field, he’s the biggest, he throws the fastest and can hit it the longest,” Rodriguez, nicknamed A-Rod, said at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo as he spent most of his time talking about the Japanese icon

“He’s a member of a class of two. Major League Baseball has been around for over 130 years, and the two members of that class are Shohei Ohtani and Babe Ruth. And that’s it.”

The Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, the largest contract in the history of sports, last offseason.

While Ohtani did not pitch in his first season as a Dodger following elbow surgery, he led the National League with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases to become the founding member of the 50-50 club.

And then the Dodgers won their first World Series title since 2020.

“People back in America said, Oh my gosh, that’s so much money,” Rodriguez said, commenting on the Ohtani-Dodgers deal. “The truth is it’s been an incredible contract for the Dodgers, in which they’ve already made their money back and then some.”

Rodriguez was once the highest-paid player with a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers after the 2000 season.

The three-time American League MVP ranks fifth on the all-time home run list with 696 home runs. He is also fourth with 2,086 RBIs from a total of 22 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Rangers and New York Yankees.

“What Shohei Ohtani has done is more than historic because it brings two countries in the world together,” Rodriguez said. “And you gotta think, when Michael Jordan was at the height in mid-90s, it elevated the NBA, it elevated the United States to a level we’ve never seen before.”

“I think the same is true for Shohei Ohtani.”