Edward Thoma: Thoma column | Modern Icarus: Ohtani flew too close to the sun
Aug. 28—The ancient Greeks passed along the legend of Icarus, whose master craftsman father constructed wings for him but warned him against flying too high lest the beeswax holding the feathers together melt. Icarus disregarded the warning, plunged into the sea and drowned.
That is the origin of the idiom "flying too close to the sun," a warning against trying to break one's capabilities. And it has an echo in Shohei Ohtani.
About a month ago this space commented on Ohtani's unique brilliance as both a hitter and pitcher and the fledgling attempts to duplicate his ability to fill slots both in the starting rotation and in the lineup.
In the past week Ohtani sustained an arm injury significant enough that he won't pitch again this season. If, as widely suspected, he has to have a second ligament replacement in his throwing elbow, he won't take the mound in 2024 either.
There is no shortage of speculation and conjecture about Ohtani's future — what this injury means for his impending free agency, whether he is better off finishing 2023 as a hitter or having the surgery immediately, whether he will be able to simultaneously rehab as a pitcher and serve as a designated hitter next season, whether he should limit future mound work to coming out of the bullpen rather than starting.
I don't know, you don't know, Ohtani doesn't know, and what's the point of pooling our ignorance?
More than a century ago Babe Ruth held a dual role as a pitcher and outfielder for a couple of seasons, then dropped the pitching portion of that portfolio. The differences between pitching in 1919 and 2023 are tremendous and not to be underestimated.
Some Negro League stars hit and pitched — notably Martin Dihigo, "Bullet" Rogan, Ted "Double Duty" Ratcliffe — but again, that environment was drastically different than the one Ohtani dominated the past two and a half seasons.
It may be that, like Icarus of mythology, Ohtani flew too close to the sun. It may be that the same fate would have befallen the likes of Dave Winfield and John Olerud — collegiate two-way superstars — had they tried to do both in the majors.
Even if Ohtani becomes a cautionary tale discouraging others from attempting the difficult feat of being both a pitcher and a hitter in the majors, the game is better for his having done so, even if for a limited time.
