The theory was regarded as gospel until Ohtani arrived in the U.S., and it certainly appeared to work: after all, Babe ended up with a lifetime batting average of .342, 714 home runs, and a lifetime OPS of 1.164. He also had a 94-46 record as a pitcher before the Yankees made him give up the mound.

As his team heads into a likely World Series, Ohtani’s pitching days are over for this season. For the sixth time in his decade-long career with the Angels and Dodgers, injuries have made it impossible for him to pitch regularly. The Athletic writes about the situation,

“As he enters his mid-30s, Ohtani probably cannot complete a full season as a two-way player. The basic story of Ohtani’s professional life is people within baseball telling him, “Hey! You can’t do that,” and Ohtani responding, “Well, actually, I can.” But Father Time is undefeated, and Ohtani has learned that the two-way load is far tougher to shoulder at 32 than it was at 27. He is currently on the injured list dealing with problems with his neck, knee and biceps. And there may be other maladies the famously private Ohtani has not revealed. Suffice to say, he is quite banged up…These two facts — Ohtani’s greatness and his fallibility — present the Dodgers with a conflict. There is a clear compromise: the team should ask him to spend the first half of the season as a hitter and then use the second half to build up arm strength so he can be available to pitch in October. Problem solved! Well, not exactly. Ohtani has agency in this situation. He may not want to give up the full-season two-way dream so easily. He may still want to prove that he can do in his 30s what he did in his 20s. He may still want to say, “Well, actually, I can.” And the Dodgers may not want to scuffle with the face of the franchise. It will be a delicate dance …”

Meanwhile, Ohtani’s pitching record as a two-way player is 47 wins and 22 loses—half what the Bambino accomplished doing one job at a time. I heard a commentator say that Ohtani was “the greatest player ever,” but neither the statistics nor history bears that out. He might have been the greatest player ever, if he had the sense, or the rational ego, to accept what Babe Ruth did over a century ago.Eschewing show-boating achievements for the long-term good of one’s team is not only the most ethical course, it’s the wisest course as well.

The other life lesson is that sometimes conventional wisdom that has developed through instinct, common sense and observation sometimes deserves more respect than we sophisticated 21st Century dwellers are inclined to give it.