Former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza believes Shohei Ohtani is a "modern-day Babe Ruth" after his record-breaking season in MLB.

Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to exceed 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season last month.

So far, he has 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases and hit a three-run homer in his postseason debut when the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres last weekend.

This season, he also surpassed Hideki Matsui's record of 175 for the most home runs by a Japanese player in MLB history (now 225).

And Piazza, who played for the Dodgers between 1992 and 1998, believes Ohtani has already cemented himself among the greats of the game.

"So, he's probably a once-in-a-lifetime player that you're going to see," Piazza told Stats Perform. "I mean, you see players throughout history, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, guys that have done exceptional things, and I think he's no different.

"I mean, the fact that you have the size, the combination of power and speed and he can pitch. I mean he's kind of like a modern-day Babe Ruth.

"Babe Ruth was a great pitcher that a lot of people don't remember him as a pitcher and then ended up hitting over 700 home runs. So, he kind of redefined the sport. I think what Otani is doing now, and I think it also shows the impact and now the effect of Japanese players in the major leagues.

"I was fortunate to play with the first modern ball player, Hideo Nomo, who played for the Dodgers in '95. And ever since then, he was kind of the first pioneer. And now you're seeing Japanese players that want to prove their value in the major leagues. Before, it wasn't so prevalent.

"I mean, up until '95, there was only one in the '60s. So, I think that's another thing that he's done. He's encouraged a lot of attention for Major League Baseball in Japan, and so I mean he's a very special, special talent."

Ohtani's performance against the Miami Marlins on September 19 has been called "one of the greatest" single-game performances in history after he became the first 50-50 player and became the 16th player in MLB history to reach 10 or more RBI in a single game.

He also broke the Dodgers record for RBI in a single game and the most home runs in a single season for the franchise.

Asked if he thought Ohtani was the best baseball player he had ever seen, Piazza added: "He still has some time, I think, to put together a career. I mean he's only been here, what, maybe five years now?

"I think the one thing about baseball is that the true test of greatness would be over, like at least a decade. I'm curious to see if he starts to pitch again, if he starts to pitch and he is effective on the mound, and if he continues his forward hitting, his very hot hitting, and the speed too.

"Because when you play that type of game, when you're stealing, and you're running a lot, it is stressful on the body. So, I think the durability thing will start to come in over the course of the next four or five years for him.

"But he can do it. I mean he's physically strong, the size and the speed, so I'm not ready to say he's the greatest player ever. But he's on a great path and I think the only limits that he has will be if he can stay healthy."

Ohtani represents Japan internationally and could be set for an appearance at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 as baseball is reintroduced to the slate.

Piazza, who is currently the manager of the Italian national baseball team, thinks Ohtani has the ability to revitalise baseball players as global stars, especially if he does appear at the Games.

"I think baseball has been limited in their markets because, obviously, the United States, Latin America and the East, the Far East, Japan and Chinese Taipei, Taiwan, and Korea. But I think you're right [that he could revitalise interest]," Piazza said.

"I mean, the fact that he's doing some very special things in this new media age, because players can get more exposure than when I played.

"I mean, I only played in the 90s. And there wasn't a lot of people in Europe that knew, obviously, of what I was doing, obviously, in Japan because I was playing with Hideo Nomo. But that's probably the only reason.

"So yes, I think we're in a new age of multimedia and social media. I think he definitely has a chance to become a world star, which is rare for baseball, because baseball has always been, as I said, limited to those markets not so big in Europe and in Asia and, as I said, Latin America, so we'll see. I think he, if anybody, could do it he can."

Andrej Kramaric's 70th-minute header was enough for Croatia to clinch a 2-1 victory over Scotland, with the visitors denied a last-gasp equaliser.

The forward completed the comeback after Igor Matanovic cancelled out Ryan Christie's opener, but Kristijan Jakic's blushes were spared as his last-second own goal was disallowed for an offside against Che Adams.

In a fairly even first half, Christie got the breakthrough, latching onto Luka Sucic's sliced attempted clearance, and bundling the ball over the line with help from Duje Caleta-Car.

However, just under four minutes later, Croatia were back on level terms as Ivan Perisic cushioned the ball to Matanovic, who drilled his low shot into the bottom-right corner.

The hosts upped the pressure after the break, and Sucic thought he had given them the lead, only to have his goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up.

And they got their reward when Craig Gordon pushed away Borna Sosa's volley, with Kramaric on hand to nod it in from close range when it looped into the air.

Adams had already sent a looping effort wide of the far post in his search for an equaliser and thought he had finally got it after pressuring Jakic into poking it over the line. However, he had done so from an offside position so VAR ruled it out, and Scotland were denied a first point this Nations League campaign.  

Data Debrief: Scotland suffer more late heartbreak

Late drama seems to follow Scotland everywhere in this competition at the moment - they lost their first two games in the competition due to late goals despite putting up a fight.

As such, Scotland extended their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history (P9 D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years, last doing so in October 2019.

The match-winner, Kramaric, scored his 30th goal for Croatia on his 99th appearance, with more than half of these (16) coming since he turned 30, while he has scored twice as many goals (eight) than any other Croatian player since the start of 2023.

Sanju Samson's stunning maiden century set India on their way to a 133-run victory over Bangladesh on Saturday.

Bangladesh had no answers in the chase and fell short as India secured a clean sweep in their three-match T20I series with a comfortable win.

India could not have got off to a better start despite Abhishek Sharma's dismissal for four, as Samson stormed to his century, plundering 111 from just 47 balls.

Suryakumar Yadav (75), Riyan Parag (34) and Hardik Pandya (47) pushed them further towards their total, even as Tanzim Hasan Sakib (3-66) tried to slow them down.

The hosts finished on 297-6, and Bangladesh's hopes of a quick start in their own innings were cut short as Parvez Hossain Emon was caught on the first ball.

Ravi Bishnoi (3-30) and Mayank Yadav (2-32) impressed in the field for India, stunting Bangladesh from building any momentum even as Towhid Hridoy kept them ticking forward with his unbeaten 63.

However, Liton Das (42) was the only other player to score higher than 15 and the tourists slumped over the finish line knowing they would get nowhere near India's total.

Data Debrief: Quick off the mark

With his maiden century in men's T20Is, Samson became the seventh India batter to score a ton as an opener. In fact, his strike rate of 236.2 is second only to Rohit Sharma (274.4 v Sri Lanka) among India batters when scoring a ton in the format.

Samson brought up his century in just 40 deliveries, making him the fourth fastest to do so in men's T20Is among batters from full-member sides and the second fastest among India's batters after Rohit (35 balls v Sri Lanka in December 2017).

He hit 11 fours and eight sixes in his knock, leaving Bangladesh with a mountain to climb from the very beginning. 

Novak Djokovic expressed his relief at reaching the Shanghai Masters final, saying his win over Taylor Fritz pushed him to his limits on Saturday. 

Djokovic kept his hopes alive of claiming a 100th tour-level title with a battling 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the American after overcoming a hip issue at the end of the second set. 

The 37-year-old required a medical timeout in the closing stages of his almost two-hour-long battle but returned to the court to reach his fifth showpiece match in Shanghai. 

In doing so, Djokovic surpassed Andy Murray (four) for the outright most finals reached at the event, while also extending his unbeaten run against Fritz to 10 matches. 

But the 24-time grand slam champion acknowledged the challenges he faced against Fritz, who threatened to take the encounter the distance. 

"It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament," said Djokovic.

"At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover, and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it.

"It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a grand slam final, and he's playing really well, particularly on this surface.

"He's serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I'm just glad to overcome in two.”

The Serbian's victory set up a meeting with world number one Jannik Sinner, who beat Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 in the other semi-final.

It will be the pair's first meeting since their final four clash at the Australian Open earlier this year, a contest Sinner would go on to win his maiden grand slam title. 

But having performed well at his first tournament since his US Open exit, Djokovic is hoping to join Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer in the 100 club against a player he described as "the best in the world."

"I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I've always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing," said Djokovic.

"[I've won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous, and I'm very grateful.

"That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title.

"I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let's see what happens."

Ederson says it is an honour to be a part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, though admitted the manager can be "sometimes annoying".

The goalkeeper joined City in June 2017 and has since kept 113 clean sheets in 257 Premier League appearances, more than any other goalkeeper in the competition since his debut.

He has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a Champions League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup under Guardiola. 

While on international duty with Brazil, Ederson attended an event for Children's Day and was asked if Guardiola was nice, annoying or angry by one child.

"You're going to get me in trouble," Ederson told ESPN Brasil. "He's all three.

"He's a nice guy, he's sometimes annoying, in the sense of [being] demanding, because he has to [be] demanding to a professional [player], and he's also angry when he has to be angry.

"So he has a mixture of all three. But he's a nice guy off the pitch, and he's a very, very demanding guy on it. And he's also a guy who gets angry like any other person, like any other coach, when things don't go well or when the team doesn't play well.

"Of course, we know that we're not going to be able to play 70 games at a brilliant level. Of course, in one game or another, there's going to be a dip."

Under Guardiola, City became the only English club in history to hold all five trophies – Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup – in a calendar year (in 2023).

In the English top-flight, Guardiola has overseen 311 games since July 2016, winning 230 of those (D43 L38). He has a 73.95% win percentage in the competition and averages 2.36 points per game.

And Ederson believes the Spaniard, who has been named the Premier League manager of the season five times, has changed football in the competition.

"I've been able to play a big part in the project," he said. "You take everything Guardiola has built up with the group, with the squad and everything he's been able to reformulate practically.

"You see every Premier League game today, how the teams try to play more football, have more possession. It's completely different from when he arrived.

"So to be able to be part of this project and achieve everything I've achieved, I feel very honoured, it really is a childhood dream."

Zheng Qinwen is through to the Wuhan Open final after a straight-sets win over Wang Xinyu.

In a historic, first-ever all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event, Zheng reached her first such final, prevailing 6-3 6-4.

There was little to separate the two in the opening exchanges – just as Zheng edged in front with the first break in the fourth game, Wang responded, levelling the scores back at 3-3.

However, Zheng rallied, successfully defending a break point on her way to winning the last three games in a row to take the first set.

Wang faced 12 break points throughout the match, but failed to defend one in the second-set opener, before protecting three as she took a 2-1 lead.

Despite her fight, the Olympic gold medallist dug deep once more, getting two back-to-back breaks in order to clinch clinching the match.

She will face Aryna Sabalenka, who has never lost a match in Wuhan, in the final on Sunday. 

Data Debrief: Home favourite

It has been a banner year for Zheng, who is also still in with a chance of qualifying for the WTA finals. Including the Olympics, she has reached the final of four events during 2024, the most she has managed during a single season. 

Only Qiang Wang and Shuai Peng (four each) have made more WTA level finals on Chinese soil than Zheng (three, Zhengzhou and Zhuhai in 2023 and Wuhan in 2024) among Chinese players in the Open Era.

In fact, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event since the introduction of the format in 2009, after Li Na.

Novak Djokovic is just one game away from securing a 100th Tour-level title after reaching the Shanghai Masters final with a straight-sets triumph over Taylor Fritz.

Djokovic needed a medical timeout deep into the second set, but was able to hold on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory to set up an encounter with Jannik Sinner in the final.  

The Serbian missed three break points in the opening game, but was able to get his nose in front in the fifth game after breaking the American's serve. 

Djokovic held his serve for the remainder to gain the early advantage, moving within touching distance of a record-extending 59th Masters 1000 final and his first of 2024. 

But Fritz responded well in the second set, despite Djokovic producing some stunning tennis that included a brilliant backhand winner in the fifth game which drew applause from his American opponent. 

The pair continued to trade blows, with a tie-break deciding whether the game would go the distance or Djokovic would reach a record fifth final in Shanghai. 

And Djokovic held his nerve, fighting back from 5-3 down to seal his progression to Sunday's showpiece, becoming the 13th different ATP Masters 1000 finalist so far this year.

Data Debrief: Djokovic one away from history

With a fifth final at the Shanghai Masters, surpassing Andy Murray (four) for the outright most at the event, Djokovic has now reached five or more finals at each of the current ATP Masters 1000 events on hard court.

Fritz is now the sixth opponent Djokovic has defeated in each of their opening 10 head-to-head meetings at ATP level, along with Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, Jeremy Chardy, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic.

Only Jimmy Connors (164), Roger Federer (157) and Ivan Lendl (146) in the Open Era have reached more ATP event finals than the Serbian (141). 

Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa shouldered full responsibility for his side's shock 1-0 defeat to Peru in their World Cup qualifying encounter. 

Peru, winless in their previous nine matches, stole the points in the 88th minute when Miguel Araujo headed Piero Quispe's cross beyond the grasp of Sergio Rochet. 

The Blanquirroja earned their first win over Uruguay since 2017, with the triumph moving them above last-placed Chile following their late defeat to Brazil.

Uruguay had a string of chances to take the lead in the first half, with Liverpool's Darwin Nunez and Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte coming closest. 

But the Peruvians started brightly after the interval, with Edison Flores unable to guide his effort on target before Sergio Pena rippled the side-netting on the hour-mark. 

With the match appearing to end all square, the Estadio Nacional de Lima was sent into raptures when Araujo was picked out to seal a memorable triumph for the hosts, powering home his first international goal. 

Uruguay managed an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.36 compared to Peru's 0.78, recording eight efforts with only three of those on target. 

Despite dominating possession throughout the contest, Bielsa acknowledged that his game plan restricted his players from making a difference in the final third. 

“I honestly feel responsible," Bielsa said.

"Due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offence, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half."

Uruguay's defeat sees them remain in third place in the qualifying standings, four points behind leaders Argentina. 

England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday. 

Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.

It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month. 

Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games. 

The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10). 

Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment. 

Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.

The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.

Aryna Sabalenka produced a stunning comeback to reach the Wuhan Open final, coming from a set and a break down to end Coco Gauff's nine-match winning run.

In a repeat of their Australian Open semi-final clash in January, Sabalenka again emerged victorious, winning 1-6 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes. 

Gauff wasted no time in stamping her authority on the contest, breaking Sabalenka's serve in consecutive games to race into a comfortable 5-0 lead in the opening set.

Sabalenka eventually get her first point on the board in the sixth game, but the damage had already been done, with Gauff claiming the early advantage, dropping just 13 points in doing so.

The second set saw both players fail to hold serve, with the first five games seeing consecutive break points before Gauff took control, only for Sabalenka to win the next two games on the spin and hold on to take the encounter the distance.

Sabalenka started brightly in the decider, taking an early 3-0 lead, with the third game seeing 19 points contested before the Belarusian hammered home her advantage. 

The American managed to claw her way back into the contest, though, winning three games on the spin. But Sabalenka broke one final time, with Gauff striking her 21st double fault to seal Sabalenka's progression to the final.

Sabalenka will face the winner of the first all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event between Qinwen Zheng and Xinyu Wang's on Sunday. 

Data Debrief: Super Sabalenka

Sabalenka hit 31 winners during the contest, becoming the first player to hit 1000 winners in WTA-1000 since Opta collects this data in 2021.

The Belarusian also became the player with the joint most finals reached in WTA events held in China in the Open Era (six), level with Alison Riske & Jelena Jankovic.

She is now the player with the most main draw wins at the Wuhan Open since the tournament's inception in 2014, equalling Petra Kvitova's total of 16. 

Only Jannik Sinner (eight, including Shanghai) has made more Tour level finals than Sabalenka in 2024 (seven, including Wuhan).

Jannik Sinner clinched the ATP Year-End number one ranking following his straight-sets semi-final win against Tomas Machac at the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner needed an hour and 43 minutes to down his Czech opponent, winning 6-4 7-5 to set up a meeting with either Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz in the final. 

The Italian, however, started slowly in the first set, losing the first two games, but recovered well as the pair traded blows in a tightly contested affair. 

But a service break in the 10th game proved decisive, with Sinner taking the early advantage in a set that saw him serve four of his nine aces against the Czech. 

But Machac refused to back down, going toe-to-toe with the world number one, producing some huge baseline hitting that the Italian struggled to respond to. 

However, after a love game to level the encounter at 6-6, Sinner closed out the contest in the tie-break, sealing his 64th win of the season to reach his maiden final at the competition as he continues to chase a Tour-leading seventh title of the year. 

Data Debrief: Sinner on top of the world

Sinner (2023-24) has become only the third player in the Open Era to reach seven or more ATP event finals on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2004-07 and 2014-2015) and Novak Djokovic (2011-13 and 2015-2016).

The Italian is now 27-3 at ATP Masters 1000 events in 2024. Since the format’s inception in 1990, only Federer, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have achieved more wins in a season. 

Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football. 

Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career. 

The 33-year-old started his career at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011. 

Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius. 

He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets. 

However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside. 

The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game. 

Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph. 

Harry Brook has all the attributes needed to become England's best ever batter after his sensational knock against Pakistan, so says James Anderson. 

Brook became the first England batter in 34 years to score a triple-century when his side thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in their first Test of the three-match series. 

In the same Test, Root scored 262, and in doing so he passed Alastair Cook's previous England best of 12,472 career runs, placing him fifth on the all-time list. 

Brook's career-best knock of 317 took him to 1,875 runs in 19 Tests and 31 innings ahead of the second encounter in Multan that starts on Monday. 

The 25-year-old has a chance to become the fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs, beating the 22 matches and 33 innings of Herbert Sutcliffe in 1928.

And Anderson, who is England's all-time leading wicket taker in Test matches, showered praise on Brook, likening him to Kevin Pietersen. 

"He's on the way to being in the top three that I've played with," Anderson said on his Tailenders podcast. 

"It's Root, Pietersen and him. He's definitely got all the attributes to overtake them.

"He's just got everything. Without trying to big him up too much because he's still really early in his Test career.

"I do think that he's got the perfect amount of each of those two and that's what will make him the best that we've ever had."

Pietersen scored 8,181 runs when his 104-Test career ended in 2014, 170 fewer than Brook has managed after 19 Tests as a comparison.

England's stunning 823-7 declared was their highest total in Test cricket since 1938 as they took a 1-0 series lead against Pakistan on Friday.

The 556 England conceded in Pakistan’s first innings was the highest total any team had overturned to then go on and earn an innings victory.

Brook and Root shared a partnership of 454, England’s highest of all time for any wicket and the fourth-highest by any Test pair.

"The thing that's really similar between Joe and Harry is that they love batting," said Anderson. "They literally couldn't care less what format it is. They just want to bat.

"They want to have fun doing it. As much as Harry's the younger player and will be learning loads from Rooty, I still think Rooty learns from him as well.

"Joe's one of those sorts of players that wants to keep developing and bettering himself, and he does watch other players and try to add bits to his game.

"I'm sure he's doing that with Harry."