Shohei Ohtani is an imposing presence on a baseball field. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, there aren't many times he's made to look small, even if he's standing next to 6-foot-7 fellow MVP Aaron Judge. Enter 7-foot-6 Mamadou N'Diaye.
The former college basketball standout at UC Irvine made a visit to Dodgers camp this week and made sure to snap a picture with Ohtani. The height discrepancy is, well, nothing short of incredible.
N'Diaye also got a chance to throw off a mound and take some pitching pointers from skipper Dave Roberts, who told him to keep his extremely lengthy follow-through a little more closed and was impressed with the result. Just imagine seeing a 7-foot-6 pitcher coming at you.
Giants right-hander Sean Hjelle is the tallest MLB player on record, and he stands at 6-foot-11, an imposing presence in his own right. Just add another seven inches and you have N'Diaye.
Even Victor Wembanyama, who at 7-foot-3 threw a memorable first pitch at Yankee Stadium last season and made the baseball look like an egg in his enormous palms, is not quite as tall as N'Diaye. There are only a select few basketball players who are, with just three college players measuring in above 7-foot-6 -- Kenny George and Mike Lanier at 7-foot-7 and 7-foot-9 current Florida freshman Olivier Rioux.
Let's just hope if N'Diaye ever gets the chance to throw out a first pitch, he fares a little better than Wembanyama. And with Roberts' tutelage, we're guessing he will.