Legendary Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Blasts Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's pursuit of an unprecedented 50-50 season — 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases — has attracted attention from inside and outside the game, among casual and longtime baseball fans alike.

Apparently not everyone is rooting for Ohtani.

More news: Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Closing in on Historic 50-50 Season

Hall of Famer David Ortiz, in a new interview, sounded a bit salty when assessing the chances of Ohtani to win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.

"They (MLB) always had... 'issues' not to give me the MVP because I was a designated hitter," Ortiz said, via Marca.com. "I'm going to see what they're going to say this year when Ohtani, the 'pretty girl' of MLB, is in the race."

According to the same report, Ortiz believes New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is drawing a short stick in the MVP race.

"Every day they are encouraging Ohtani to reach 50-50, while players like Francisco Lindor are being held back," Ortiz said, via Marca.com.

Ortiz is hardly the first to take a side in the MVP race. While few doubt that Ohtani is the superior offensive player, he's been unable to pitch this season while recovering from internal brace surgery on his right elbow last year.

That Ohtani has compiled an unprecedented 46 home runs and 46 stolen bases (through Sunday) while rehabbing his injury is impressive — but not impressive enough to those who believe an MVP must also contribute in the field.

Lindor, the Mets' outstanding shortstop, has 30 home runs, 26 stolen bases and a 135 OPS+ — which would be the highest of his career over a full season. He's won two Gold Glove Awards in the past and could well earn another this season.

Still, Ohtani is in a virtual tie with Lindor in FanGraphs' version of Wins Above Replacement (Lindor's 7.2 to 6.8 lead is within the margin of error), while Ohtani leads in Baseball Reference's version of the metric, 7.2 to 6.3, with San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman second (6.5).

What's ironic is that Ortiz, primarily a designated hitter during his storied 20-year career with the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, would not root for a designated hitter to finally win the award. If MVP voters within the Baseball Writers' Association of America ranks have historically failed to recognize the combined value of baserunning and batting at the level Ohtani has produced this year, maybe shunning DHs in awards voting is not a precedent worth honoring.

But for Ortiz to feminize an Asian man — even one who is the most famous professional athlete in his sport — is to perpetuate a dangerous and longstanding stereotype in America, with no place in the public discourse.

In his role as a studio analyst for Fox Sports, Ortiz is not known for stirring the pot. Although he made his career in Boston, Ortiz is a native of the Dominican Republic and might be unaware of the history of American ethnic stereotypes.

In any event, it's hard to defend the stance that Ohtani and Lindor are competing for the MVP award based on anything other than the merits of their play on the field. Perhaps Ortiz will use his national platform clarify his comments in the days or weeks to come.