As Japan prepared to face the US in the finals of the World Baseball Classic last year, Shohei Ohtani famously warned his teammates to stop worshiping their American counterparts. “If we idolize them, we cannot surpass them,” he said. The advice worked and Japan went on to win, with Ohtani closing out the game in the ninth inning.

Now the tables have turned and the baseball world idolizes Ohtani. Win or lose with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Ohtani has not only already achieved what many are calling the greatest individual game in Major League Baseball history, but also the best season. Sports journalism has too few superlatives for him: such is his dominance that he is sometimes called “the most talented player to ever step onto a baseball field” and a “lion who plays with cubs.”

Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. He did all this while using only half his talent. Ohtani first made a name for himself as a two-way star who could throw as well as hit, but has stayed off the mound this season after undergoing elbow surgery. That hasn’t stopped him from having an economic impact of nearly ¥117 billion ($783 million) in ticket sales and other revenue this season alone, according to Kansai University professor emeritus Katsuhiro Miyamoto.