MLB Network's take on 'faces of the game' disrespects LA Dodgers

The argument is always a fun one: Who is the face of baseball?

There are dozens of stars in Major League Baseball, each one offering something unique to the game thanks to their skills, personality, or both. Fortunately for the Dodgers, this club has a bevy of these A-list type players.

On August 16, MLB Network's Mark DeRosa shared his list of the top five faces in MLB this season on MLB Central, and while the most prominent Dodger was included among them, the group still felt somewhat disrespectful and off base.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani clearly deserves to be the face of baseball

The Team USA manager definitely aced the top three, although the order could use one fix.

Aaron Judge, undoubtedly having the best overall season in the sport, should probably switch places with Ohtani for this specific ranking.

Judge is a larger-than-life player, but Ohtani's contribution to the game has gone global. Baseball isn't the most glamorous sport, but casual fans and people who don't follow baseball know who Shohei Ohtani is.

The two-time MVP is a one-man show, and people have specifically gone out of their way to see him at the ballpark.

Press line up for him, people cannot stop buying his jersey, and he never shies away when the lights are the brightest.

On top of it all, Ohtani is one-of-a-kind. It's been beaten to death how he can succeed at the plate and on the mound, but it is truly remarkable that he can post elite numbers on both sides of the ball.

In 2024, Ohtani leads the National League in home runs (39), runs scored (94), OPS (.990) and total bases (296).

LA Dodgers' Mookie Betts deserves a Top 5 spot among game's faces

It's tough to argue that Bobby Witt Jr. and Paul Skenes are already one of the top faces of the game.

Both All-Stars are off to incredible starts to their respective careers, but in order to be considered one of the top names in a major sport, you need to put your time in.

Betts has only logged 76 games this year, but he is still an eight-time All-Star with one MVP and three runner-up nods. It's difficult to agree with Witt Jr. and Skenes being ahead of Betts, who has proven to shine at multiple positions in the field, too.

His athleticism alone is enough to consider him in the top five, and he trails only Mike Trout in career bWAR among active position players (69.2), but let's also look at popularity numbers.

Though it is not the most important metric, younger players tend to have a stronger social media presence. Betts holds 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 300,000 on X (formerly Twitter). Witt Jr. falls short, as he has 189,000 Instagram followers with an additional 62.2K more on X. Skenes is followed by 541K people on Instagram and 25.1K on X.

While these numbers shouldn't hold much water, Betts does blow the newcomers away in this area, despite being almost a decade older than them. Betts also sells the fourth-most jerseys in baseball behind Ohtani, Harper, and Judge.

Witt Jr. and Skenes are definitely the future of baseball, but currently, Betts is more of a face than each of these guys.

LA Dodgers' Freddie Freeman deserves a moment in the sun

Freeman perhaps does not present as strong of a case to be a top-five face in baseball, but he does have an argument.

Bolstering a 60.2 career bWAR, Freeman is an MVP and an eight-time All-Star ... just like Mookie.

He's also earned three Silver Sluggers and is batting .301 for his career. Freeman is the career leader among active players in doubles (502), hits (2,239), runs (1,286) and RBI (1,215).

Freeman is known to be one of the more personable guys in baseball, too, whether stealing the show at the 2023 All-Star game mic'd up, or running into several memorable moments with Anthony Rizzo.

The Dodgers are the preeminent franchise in MLB and have the star power to back it up. Ohtani is a certified celebrity at this point, and Betts/Freeman have each been consistently successful, while also holding prestige outside the lines.