Major League Baseball has seen hundreds of players grace the diamond in the decades it has existed. Some ballplayers popularized the game for the masses while some redefined the sport entirely. A few rare names, like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds, even made it to people who don’t follow the game. In recent decades, another name that has risen to the top ranks is Alex Rodriguez. But who does A-Rod define as a ‘good’ player?

Rodriguez may have a complicated past, but his baseball talent is undeniable. However, what does he think about the generation that followed him?

Alex Rodriguez names the current players as the ‘best crop’

A-Rod recently appeared on CBS Mornings to give a major health update. He also talked about parenting, business, and of course, baseball. When host Tony Dokoupil mentioned the players that are the shining stars of the league right now, A-Rod got excited. The former Yankee has been working as an MLB analyst for FOX Sports for the last several years and also covered the World Baseball Classic’s 2023 edition in March.

Dokoupil mentioned names like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Ronald Acuña Jr. among the top talents and A-Rod agreed. “The crop of baseball players we have today – I think they’re better than ever before…They’re exciting, they’re using more fun, bat flips – people are excited about baseball again. But this is the best crop of players I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.

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And indeed, the WBC final showdown between Team USA and Team Japan was one of the most-watched baseball moments in recent years. A major reason was to see what would go down between Los Angeles Angels teammates Ohtani and Trout, who have long been considered some of the best on the West Coast.

Despite his recent slump, Ohtani is on track to being the best MLB player

With the amount of raw talent that baseball fans see on a daily basis, naming one great player is hard. But Shohei Ohtani is among the top choice for a majority of people. Why? Because he plays on both sides of the ball, and he plays really well.

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Ohtani is in his third consecutive season of pulling full-time double duty and he’s doing as well as ever. Of course, despite what his talent might suggest, the Japanese ballplayer is only human. He has been going through something of a slump lately, but his performance is still that of a first-class player.