With Shohei Ohtani, Baseball Embraces ‘Why Not?’

As his fellow All-Stars grapple with Ohtani’s brilliance, they focus on the difficult nature of his versatility. In a risk-averse game, he is an argument for going all in.

DENVER — Every All-Star knows the stress and the sacrifice that brought them here. Rising to the peak of a sport tends to require every bit of effort, mental and physical. None of them will say it came easily. So when the members of the American and National League All-Star teams consider Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, they are awe-struck. They think of their own journeys and routines, and then double it. “This is the top level of baseball, and he’s performing at the highest level on both sides,” said Matt Olson, the first baseman for the Oakland Athletics. “It’s crazy. Everybody that’s here, he’s doing both — pitchers and hitters. It is cool.”