Angels News: Shohei Ohtani is the 'Smartest' Player Phil Nevin Has Ever Been Around

Nevin was giving out the highest of praises to his superstar.

Phil Nevin has been around the game of baseball for a long time. The former first overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft, Nevin spent 12 years in the league as a player. He played on seven different teams during that time span.

Then, in 2010, Nevin begin his managerial career. He slowly worked his way up through the minor leagues of a few teams before he became the Giants third base coach for the 2017 season. Then he was the Yankees third base coach for until 2022, when he came over to the Angels to be their third base coach. When Joe Maddon was fired, Nevin took over as the interim manager. And before the end of the season, he was re-upped for next season.

So between all those years of playing baseball and being in different organizations, Nevin has been around a lot of players. However, that didn't stop him from giving the highest praise to his current two-way superstar, Shohei Ohtani

"When you’re around it every day, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen," Nevin said. "[We’re] lucky to have him. Lucky to be around him. I’ve learned a lot from him. What people don’t know is he’s probably one of the smartest baseball people in the game. Certainly the smartest one that I’ve ever been around."

"It's amazing what he does on a daily basis to prepare himself... there's so much more to this guy than what we see on the field."@Angels manager Phil Nevins knows Shohei Ohtani better than most and he shares what he's seen from the AL MVP finalist.@officialBBWAA | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/5y7sZu49mY

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 8, 2022

The praise doesn't get much higher than that, and just proves how incredibly gifted Ohtani is. Having the skillset that he possesses is only one part of it, but to be able to see the game through his lens and know what it takes to excel has separated him from the game's best. 

The baseball world has never seen someone like Ohtani, and then may never again. He's truly one of a kind, and the Angels are lucky to have him.