More than 6 in 10 World Series watchers think Shohei Ohtani could be the greatest baseball player of all time

A full 62% of Americans who are watching the 2025 MLB World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays believe the Dodgers’ star two-way player Shohei Ohtani could be “the greatest baseball player of all time,” according to a new Yahoo/YouGov poll.

Far fewer are willing to say Ohtani is probably (18%) or definitely (9%) not the GOAT.

At the same time, World Series watchers are far more likely to say talent will be a “major factor” in deciding this year’s winner (79%) than money (32%).

About 20% of Americans overall say they are watching the 2025 World Series.

The survey of 1,770 U.S. adults was conducted from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27, just as the fall classic was getting underway amid chatter that the Dodgers and (to a lesser extent) the Blue Jays were spending their way to a championship. For the 2025 season, the Dodgers’ total payroll was approximately $320 million (second in the National League); the Blue Jays’ total payroll was approximately $240 million (second in the American League).

“They said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” LA manager Dave Roberts joked after his team clinched the National League pennant earlier this month. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”

No player epitomizes the debate over the price of talent in baseball quite like Ohtani, who signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last year.

After a sleepy postseason start, Ohtani, the first player since Babe Ruth to pitch and hit at a Hall of Fame level and the only modern player to continue doing both simultaneously, exploded in the final game of the National League Championship Series, striking out 10 on the mound while homering three times at the plate — something that no one else has ever done.

In Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night — a six-hour, 39-minute epic that stretched to 18 innings — Ohtani doubled and homered twice, eventually reaching base nine times. That’s also a record.

And on Tuesday night, just 18 hours later, he will get his first World Series start as pitcher.

Not all World Series watchers who think Ohtani could be the GOAT are willing to commit just yet. Only 9% believe he’s “definitely’ the best ever; far more choose to hedge their bets, saying the Japanese phenom is either “probably” (23%) or “maybe” (30%) the best.

But that’s still a remarkable showing for a 31-year-old who’s been competing in the majors only since 2018 — and will likely continue playing for many years to come.

Among World Series watchers who don’t think Ohtani is “definitely” the finest ballplayer in history, the most popular responses to the question “Who do you think is greater than Ohtani?” include Babe Ruth (50%), Hank Aaron (42%), Willie Mays (37%) and Mickey Mantle (34%).

Note that not even Ruth clears the 50% mark.

As for the Dodgers’ and Jays’ lavish spending, World Series watchers certainly think it’s played a part in the 2025 postseason. A full 58% say money was a major factor in both teams making it to the World Series; 81% say it was at least a minor factor. Meanwhile, 32% predict that money will be a major factor in determining the outcome of the series, and 61% expect it to be at least a minor factor.

But talent still trumps cash, with 81% saying it was a major factor in deciding this year’s World Series matchup and 79% predicting it will be a major factor in the outcome. Even more (91%) describe talent as at least a minor factor in both scenarios.

Money, of course, can buy talent; since 2016, teams that rank in the top five for payroll spending have featured in all but one World Series. As a result, 70% of World Series watchers approve of the “MLB trying to level the financial playing field by implementing a salary cap and a salary floor, like the NFL.” Just 11% disapprove.

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The Yahoo survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,770 U.S. adults interviewed online from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 3.1%.