Shohei Ohtani
- Born:
- July 5, 1994, Oshu, Japan (age 30)
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Shohei Ohtani (born July 5, 1994, Oshu, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter (DH) who established himself as the sport’s greatest two-way player in a century following his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2018. In 2021 he became the first player in major league history to be named an All-Star as both a pitcher and a position player. He made history again during the 2024 season when he became the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the regular season.
Early life and career
Ohtani was born into a baseball-loving family, and both he and his elder brother, Ryuta, were introduced to the sport at an early age. By the time Shohei entered high school, he had become one of the hardest-throwing teen pitchers in Japan, and, by the time he was 17 years old, his top speed had reached a remarkable 99 miles (159 km) per hour. Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters) tall, Ohtani was drawing the attention of scouts from all over the world by the time he graduated high school, and he was labeled one of the most exciting Japanese prospects in decades.
Despite his insistence that he wanted to join MLB immediately, he was drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters as the first overall pick of the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) draft. During a series of meetings with officials from the franchise, Ohtani was persuaded to sign—after they argued that the best Japanese major leaguers developed domestically instead of in the notoriously demanding American minor league system and, more importantly, after they promised that he could both pitch and hit for the Ham Fighters.
MLB: Los Angeles Angels standout
Ohtani was an immediate sensation in the NPB and, because of his popularity, he was voted into the All-Star Game during his rookie season, despite posting mediocre statistics as both a hitter and a pitcher (he had a .238 batting average and a 4.23 earned-run average [ERA] that season). Playing in the outfield and pitching, Ohtani improved over the years as he added muscle to his previously slim frame and began hitting the mammoth home runs that would become his signature. In 2015 he led the NPB with a 2.24 ERA, and the following year he had his best NPB season, not only posting the best ERA in the league (1.86) but also leading the Ham Fighters to Pacific League and Japan Series championships.
Ohtani had by this point proved that he could play in the major leagues and, after playing one more NPB season, in 2017, he pursued a deal with Major League Baseball. Ohtani was courted by all 30 MLB teams and ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017. Since the Angels play in the American League (AL) and use the designated-hitter position, Ohtani would be able to pitch and bat as the DH on his pitching off-days, which would make him the first full-time two-way MLB player in almost a century.
As the most anticipated Japanese player to join MLB since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001, Ohtani was under immense pressure to live up to his billing. He did so, batting .285 and hitting 22 home runs while also posting a 3.31 ERA in 10 games as a starting pitcher and thereby winning the AL Rookie of the Year award for his play. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his right (pitching) elbow in the following offseason and hence was restricted to playing DH in 2019. He returned to pitching during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, but he struggled in his two starting appearances, and he batted just .190 in 44 games that year.
In 2021, however, Ohtani bounced back tremendously, beginning a streak of some of the most historic seasons in MLB history. That year he batted .257 with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs as well as starting 23 games as a pitcher and posting a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts. He was named an All-Star at both of his positions and was unanimously chosen to receive the AL Most Valuable Player award at the season’s end. In 2022 he batted .273 with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs. As a pitcher, he started 28 games and posted a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts. He repeated as an All-Star as a designated hitter and a pitcher and finished second in AL MVP voting.
Ohtani’s incredible run continued in the 2023 season, which he finished as the AL leader in home runs (44), on-base percentage (.412), and total bases (325) and MLB leader in slugging (.654) and on-base plus slugging (1.066). Despite suffering a ulnar collateral ligament tear in August and ending his season in mid-September because of a further injury, Ohtani was selected as an All-Star in both of his positions for a third straight year and won a second unanimous AL MVP award.
Move to the Dodgers
Ohtani was a free agent at the end of the 2023 season, and his decision about where to play next attracted round-the-clock press coverage. In the end he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the largest payday in sports history up to that time. On the day of Ohtani’s debut with the Dodgers, reports broke that his long-time interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, had incurred massive gambling debts and used Ohtani’s money to pay an illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara was immediately fired from the Dodgers, and Ohtani said the transfers had been made without his knowledge. Mizuhara eventually pleaded guilty to fraud charges, and Ohtani’s innocence in the matter was affirmed by MLB.
Despite that rocky start on his new team, Ohtani submitted another all-time performance in the 2024 season. Taking the year off from pitching as he recovered from elbow surgery allowed Ohtani to put all his energies into offense. On August 23 he became only the sixth player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases during a season. Less than a month later, on September 19, Ohtani achieved a feat that had never been accomplished: a 50-50 season. He ended the 2024 regular season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. The Dodgers won their division, marking Ohtani’s first trip to the postseason in his MLB career. He notched 3 home runs and 10 RBIs across the NL Division Series and Championship Series, and the Dodgers faced the New York Yankees in the World Series. Ohtani had a quiet series, amassing just three hits, but the Dodgers won in five games. In November 2024 Ohtani was unanimously selected as the NL MVP, the first full-time designated hitter to win the award.