Shohei Ohtani: The Overseas Hero Baseball Needs

Shohei Ohtani: The Overseas Hero Baseball Needs

by Liam Crampton

In recent years, America’s favorite pastime, baseball, has been decreasing in popularity amongst the youth. Whether it be shady scandals, the game slowing down, or poor management of the league, the MLB has struggled with ratings for the past few years. Who would have thought though, that the light at the end of the tunnel would be coming from overseas, thousands of miles away?

Shohei Ohtani was a young kid from Japan. His father, Toru, was a corporate league baseball player, and the man who introduced baseball to him. By the time he was eight years old, he was a regular little league player and continued playing baseball into his high school years. At sixteen, Ohtani was throwing pitches just shy of 100 mph, dominating the competition.

During the following year, he had a growth spurt, shooting up to 6’5. As nice as the height sounds, this actually caused many issues for him. Ohtani had trouble adjusting to his new body, as he dealt with groin and hamstring injuries throughout the season. Ohtani also had to adjust his pitching style as well, as his old techniques became stiff with his new build.

Ohtani actually made his decision to pursue his career in the US back in 2012, but the Nippon-Ham Fighters drafted him first overall anyways. Ohtani dominated the Japanese league as a pitcher and outfielder. He became a multiple-time all-star, an MVP, a champion, and had signed a 100 million yen contract.

In 2017, Ohtani took up hitting the ball alongside pitching, something that wasn’t super common in modern baseball. Ohtani had no trouble stepping up to the plate, hitting .332, 8 home runs, and 3 RBIs that very season, and the MLB had definitely noticed the impressive play.

Ohtani’s dream of playing baseball in the U.S. was now within his reach. After 5 seasons in Japan, on December 7, 2017, “Shotime” had signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels, to team up with the MLB’s biggest star, Mike Trout.

Ohtani’s versatility made him a very valuable asset for the Angels. After a debut season of hitting .285, 22 home runs, and going 4-2 as a pitcher with a 3.31 ERA, Ohtani took home the rookie of the year award. Despite a strong sophomore season, Ohtani was dealing with a number of injury issues, including having to get Tommy John surgery on his elbow, which involves a very difficult recovery process for pitchers.

Ohtani had finally recovered fully and was ready for the 2021 season. This season would turn Ohtani from a promising young player to the face of the entire league. With fellow star Mike Trout injured for the majority of the year, it was Ohtani’s time to lead the team. Ohtani had a ridiculous season, hitting .257, 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, and going 9-2 as a pitcher. It seemed like every game, Ohtani put on a show. All season long the kid from Japan was the talk of the sport. Despite missing the playoffs, Ohtani was crowned the AL MVP, beating out Vladmir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ohtani’s unique dual-threat playstyle, along with being a human highlight reel has made him the league’s brightest star in a long time. When kids think of professional baseball now, the first word that comes to mind is “Shotime”! Ohtani even got the honor to grace the cover of the latest MLB The Show video game.

Japanese players have had some success in the MLB in the past, but Ohtani has opened a whole new door. Seiya Suzuki, another one of Japan’s big stars, is looking to make the transition to the U.S., with the Boston Red Sox being the supposed team he has his sights on.

Ohtani faces his biggest challenge yet, as the MLB finds themselves in the midst of a controversial lockout, that is upsetting many fans. Discussions between the owners and players have gone just about nowhere and the baseball season is now in jeopardy. With the MLB is losing supporters by the hour, whenever this lockout ends, Ohtani may just be the hero that the once acclaimed America’s favorite pastime needs.