Travis Hunter Says Him Playing Both Ways in Football Is More Difficult Than Shohei Ohtani Pitching and Hitting, Which Is Simply Untrue

Let me begin this by saying Travis Hunter is an incredible athlete who I think is going to have an outstanding NFL career. He's a Heisman Trophy winner who was able to do something for three years which we haven't seen in a long time and may never see again. With that said, however, please do not confuse that with what we see Shohei Ohtani do on a baseball field.

Playing wide receiver and cornerback requires much of the same skillset. Sure, there are technique differences in trying to get open and covering someone who's trying to do that, but for the most part, you just need to be someone who's fast, agile and can go get the football — which Hunter does incredibly well. Being able to be the best hitter on the planet as well as a 90th percentile Major League pitcher, however, requires two skillsets so diametrically opposed that nobody even tries to do it because it's virtually impossible. We stopped letting pitchers try to hit in the big leagues because almost none of them could do it with any degree of proficiency.

Then there's Shohei, who put up a 3.14 ERA as his side gig in 2023 while hitting .304 with 44 home runs. And when forced to take a year off from pitching last season, Ohtani put up one of the best seasons we've ever seen at the plate, hitting .310 with 54 homers and 130 RBI. What that guy does is so insane that the only other player who has ever done it to the degree Ohtani has did it 100 years ago and was playing against milkmen.

Hunter mentioned what football requires from your body as part of his rationale, which is certainly fair. It's the most physically demanding sport we have. But the comparison he's making is apples and oranges. Could Ohtani do what Hunter does? Of course not. But I'd be willing to bet there's at least one other player in the NFL who could get close if he really wanted to. There isn't another person on the planet who can replicate Shohei on a baseball field.

If Hunter figures out a way to be the best quarterback in the NFL in addition to being a lockdown corner, we can have a discussion.