“Illegal for football commentators to talk about baseball” - Fans react as announcers debate Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers stardom during NFL broadcast

Shohei Ohtani has been in the MLB since 2018, but some NFL commentators think he is only getting noticed now. On Thursday Night Football, Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels talked about Ohtani and especially his historic three-homer, 10-strikeout performance in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The conversation transpired into Herbstreit insinuating that the Japanese two-way star is only getting his due recognition because of his association with the Dodgers.

“He was over there eight years at Anaheim, no one cared!” Herbstreit said. “No one talked about him! You get that Dodger uniform on him, everybody pays attention.”

This statement from Herbstreit has not gone down well with several baseball fans. One fan went as far as to say:

"We should make it illegal for football commentators to talk about baseball at all."

"Rookie of the Year, two MVPs and another second-place finish, all in six years. Come on @KirkHerbstreit," another fan said.

"Prime example of just saying words for the sake of it lol. Of course Ohtani was the most talked about thing both in the Angels org and now Dodgers," a fan said.

Here are some more reactions from fans.

"Kirk is getting Shohei confused w his dog," one fan said.

"This is an Anaheim Angels shot lmfao," another fan said.

"People did 😆 I heard that and was like what are you talking about. I even have topps cards with Othani on it from Anaheim that I have never open. How do you pay someone that kind of money if no one cared?" a fan said.

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Shohei Ohtani on cusp of winning second straight World Series

Shohei Ohtani spent the first six years of his MLB career with the LA Angels. However, he didn't play a single postseason game while there.

He became a free agent after the 2023 season and his two-way pedigree brought him a truckload of money from the Dodgers, who signed him to a 10-year, $700 million deal.

In his first season in Chavez Ravine, Ohtani helped the Dodgers win the World Series. He was named the NL MVP of the season unanimously. He has previously won AL MVP as well when he was with the Angels.

On Saturday, Ohtani will try to help the Dodgers become the first team in 25 years to win consecutive World Series titles. He will start the game on the mound and also take the plate as the leadoff hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.