Discipline turns a mortal man into a superstar. And Derek Jeter is a prime example of it; the New York Yankees legend has forever said how he wasn’t ever the most talented player in the room. However, his sheer dedication and ability to dissociate from distractions pushed him ahead of the pack. While that quality was quite rare then, it isn’t any commoner now. In fact, according to Jeter, there’s probably one man who possesses it currently – Shohei Ohtani.

Jeter has always been full of praise for the two-way phenom. Whether it be his discipline or mental fortitude, Shohei Ohtani has always impressed Jeter. However, this appreciation runs deeper than just that. The Captain Clutch has now revealed a key similarity between him and Ohtani, making them their generation’s premier players. 

“He’s been able to limit distractions,” Jeter said on The Heard with Colin Cowherd, adding, “When I played, it was simple. If I addressed something once, I didn’t talk about it again because I didn’t want it to be a distraction. And I think that’s exactly what he did, he addressed it once and it doesn’t linger because he doesn’t continue to speak on it.” Jeter, of course, was referring to Ohtani’s $16 million theft case. Despite multiple questions being raised, the Dodgers star remained silent and focused on baseball. While that decision proved to be controversial, it helped in keeping Ohtani’s performances at a high level.

This is because just like Jeter, Shotime, too, rarely allows the media to create narratives. As a result, he remains a fairly uncontroversial player who continues to focus on his on-field activities. That has been one of the hallmark qualities of Ohtani since his debut. It is this professionalism that makes him such a formidable athlete and such a huge sensation.

Derek Jeter too was known for his safe and clean interviews. Despite being the captain of the biggest team in baseball, there were little to no controversies surrounding him. This quality of Jeter led him to the Hall-of-Fame, one wonders whether Ohtani’s road ends there too. 

Analyst says Shohei Ohtani is already a Hall-of-Famer

Famous analyst Chris Broussard recently made a bold comment on his show. Broussard compared Shohei Ohtani with Aaron Judge and explained where they stand in the Hall-of-Fame race. Despite Judge breaking the AL Home Run record, Broussard felt that if he had to retire today, no one would put Judge in Hall-of-Fame. However, things would be different for Ohtani.

“Shohei would have a better chance of getting it,” Broussard said. “Because of what he did as far as the pitching and the hitting. And he did it at a very high level in both categories.” Could that be the case? Though it’s still early to predict anything, especially because Judge is also having a historic year, the idea seems interesting. However, until then the story remains about Shohei Ohtani’s discipline.

With Derek Jeter endorsing Shotime, it seems every legend is slowly coming into Ohtani’s fandom. Could this be a signal of times to come? Perhaps it could be. After all, there’s only one Unicorn in baseball.