108 Facts About Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani, nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball.

Shohei Ohtani previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League.

Shohei Ohtani played in NPB for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder.

Shohei Ohtani won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2021 AL Most Valuable Player Award.

Shohei Ohtani was the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter, as he was a starter in the 2021 All-Star Game in both capacities, as the AL's manager-selected starting pitcher and fan-elected starting designated hitter.

Related searches

Shohei Ohtani was born to Kayoko and Toru Otani in Oshu, Iwate, Japan, on July 5,1994.

Shohei Ohtani's mother, Kayoko, was a national-level badminton player in high school and his father worked at a local automobile manufacturing plant and was an amateur baseball player who played in the Japanese Industrial League.

In Japan, Shohei Ohtani was known as a "" —a kid who lives, eats and breathes baseball.

Shohei Ohtani began playing baseball in his second year of elementary school and as a seventh-grader, Ohtani recorded all but one of 18 outs in a six-inning regional championship game.

Shohei Ohtani threw the pitch in the Japanese national high school baseball championship tournament, commonly called Summer Koshien.

Shohei Ohtani expressed a desire to move directly to the major leagues after high school and received interest from numerous teams including the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hokkaido said it would allow Shohei Ohtani to serve as a pitcher and position player; the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had become Shohei Ohtani's top-choice MLB team, were not prepared to let him play both ways.

Shohei Ohtani was assigned the jersey number 11, previously worn by Yu Darvish.

Shohei Ohtani made his debut at age 18 in the Fighters' season-opening game on March 29,2013, playing as a right fielder.

Shohei Ohtani was selected for a Pacific League roster spot for the 2013 All-Star Game.

Shohei Ohtani was used as a rookie in both the outfield and as a pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani was the second Nippon Pro Baseball rookie drafted out of high school the previous year to be used as both a pitcher and position player, following Kikuo Tokunaga in 1951; Ohtani was the first to start in both roles.

Shohei Ohtani was the first NPB pitcher since Takao Kajimoto in 1963 to bat 3rd, 4th or 5th and the first rookie hurler to do so since Junzo Sekine in 1950.

Shohei Ohtani was the second player, following Osamu Takechi, to start a game at pitcher, bat in the heart of the order and get a hit and a run batted in in that game.

Shohei Ohtani missed time during the year with a right ankle sprain and right cheekbone fracture.

Shohei Ohtani's 8 hit batsmen tied Manabu Mima, Tadashi Settsu, Hideaki Wakui and Ryoma Nogami for 5th in the 2013 Pacific League.

Shohei Ohtani received 4 of the 233 votes for the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award, tying Tatsuya Sato for a distant second behind Takahiro Norimoto.

Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher out of high school to notch two shutout victories within his first two years in the NPB since Yu Darvish.

Shohei Ohtani started game 5 at the Sapporo Dome and, although his team ultimately lost, he wasn't charged with an earned run, and of the 12 outs he recorded in four innings, he got seven via strikeout.

Shohei Ohtani rarely played the field but did see some action at DH, hitting.

Related searches

Shohei Ohtani finished third in MVP voting again, placing behind Yanagita and Shogo Akiyama for the 2015 Pacific League MVP.

Shohei Ohtani placed third in MVP voting and was one of three candidates considered for the 2015 Sawamura Award, given annually to the top pitcher in either league.

Shohei Ohtani was dominant for the Japanese national team in the 2015 Premier 12.

Shohei Ohtani did not give up a hit until Keun-woo Jeong singled in the 7th and had the most whiffs in a game for the first Premier 12 ever.

Shohei Ohtani won the Best Nine award as a pitcher and won the Pacific League MVP.

Shohei Ohtani tied for 8th in the PL in wins and was third in strikeouts.

Shohei Ohtani led Nippon Ham to the 2016 Japan Series, but lost the opener to the Hiroshima Carp; he fanned 11 in 6 innings but allowed 3 runs, two on a homer by Brad Eldred and one on a steal of home by Seiya Suzuki.

Shohei Ohtani made the Best Nine as the top pitcher and top DH in the PL.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player to received the awards as both a pitcher and a hitter.

Shohei Ohtani topped 4-time Cuban MVP Alfredo Despaigne easily at DH but the vote at pitcher was closer.

Shohei Ohtani was the run-away winner of the 2016 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, getting 253 of 254 first-place votes and one second-place vote.

In September, it was revealed that Shohei Ohtani would ask to be posted at the end of the season in order to play in Major League Baseball in 2018.

Shohei Ohtani was under 25 years old, Ohtani was subjected to international signing rules.

Shohei Ohtani narrowed his finalists to seven teams, signing with the Angels for a $2.

Shohei Ohtani received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the injury.

Shohei Ohtani received platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell injections to treat the injury.

Shohei Ohtani became the second-fastest Angels rookie to reach 20 home runs, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only MLB players with 10 pitching appearances and 20 homers in a season.

On September 3,2018, ESPN announced that doctors recommended that Shohei Ohtani undergo Tommy John surgery, after an MRI showed new damage to his UCL.

The Angels announced on September 25 that Shohei Ohtani had agreed to the procedure, which would keep him off the mound until 2020.

On May 7,2019, Shohei Ohtani played in his first game with the Angels since undergoing Tommy John surgery, batting as a designated hitter against the Detroit Tigers.

Related searches

On July 24,2020, Shohei Ohtani was the first ever automatic player on second base in an official MLB game at the start of the 10th inning as part of one of the new 2020 MLB season rules in a game against the Oakland Athletics.

On July 26,2020, Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound against the Oakland Athletics, making his first pitching appearance since September 2018.

Shohei Ohtani allowed five runs and was removed from the mound without recording an out, starting his season with a loss and an infinite ERA.

Shohei Ohtani went on to say that while his 2019 had been disappointing, his 2020 had been "more like pathetic", because he could not pitch or hit the way he wanted to.

Shohei Ohtani adjusted his diet based on blood-sample analysis and started squatting heavy again, focusing on strengthening his lower half and bulking up to 225 pounds.

Shohei Ohtani threw bullpen sessions earlier than usual and took batting practice against live pitching, an offseason first for him.

Shohei Ohtani embraced data and technology to optimize his training and recovery by visiting Driveline Baseball, a popular player-development destination for underperforming pitchers, where he tinkered with a changeup.

Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3, hitting a 450-foot solo home run on the first pitch he faced.

Shohei Ohtani pitched five innings, allowing four runs in the first inning and striking out nine.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player in nearly 100 years to start a game on the mound while entering the day leading the Majors in home runs.

On June 18, Shohei Ohtani was elected to the 2021 Home Run Derby, becoming both the first pitcher and the first Japanese player to do so.

Three days later, Shohei Ohtani was named AL Player of the Week for the third time in his career after hitting six home runs and picking up a win as starting pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani had already been selected as the starting designated hitter by the fans for the 2021 All-Star Game on July 1, while being voted by the players as one of five starting pitchers to make the American League roster on July 4.

On July 7, Shohei Ohtani hit his 32nd home run of the year, a solo shot off of Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, passing Hideki Matsui's mark in 2004, for the most home runs hit during a season by a Japanese-born player in MLB.

Additionally, Shohei Ohtani won the Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award, becoming the first Japanese player to win the award.

For participating in the Derby, Shohei Ohtani received $150,000, which he proceeded to donate his earnings to approximately 30 Angels support employees to thank them for their work, which included trainers, clubhouse workers and media relations staffers.

Shohei Ohtani had decided that he was going to use the money in this manner no matter what his Derby outcome was.

Additionally, in the same game, Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher to throw a scoreless top half and record a hit, a RBI, a stolen base and a scored run while playing in an AL ballpark since Luis Tiant did so for the Minnesota Twins on April 26,1970.

Shohei Ohtani became the first left-handed batter in Angels history to reach 40 home runs, surpassing lefty Reggie Jackson's 1982 record of 39.

Shohei Ohtani became just the fourth AL pitcher to throw at least eight innings and hit a homer in a game since the DH was instituted in 1973, joining Jon Garland in June 2006, Kris Benson in June 2006, and Bobby Witt in June 1997.

Related searches

Shohei Ohtani became the first AL player to reach both of those totals in a season since Curtis Granderson in 2011.

On September 21, after hitting his 45th home run of the season, Shohei Ohtani became the first player to hit at least 45 homers and steal 20 bases in a season since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.

Angels announced on September 25 that Shohei Ohtani was named as both the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2021 and the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates.

Shohei Ohtani became the sixth starter in AL or NL history to make at least 13 home starts without a losing decision and an ERA below 2.

Shohei Ohtani tied for the MLB lead with eight triples to go along with 26 stolen bases.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 45 homers, 25 stolen bases, 100 RBIs, 100 runs, and eight triples in a season and the second player in AL history to record at least 45 homers and 25 stolen bases in a season, joining Jose Canseco in 1998.

Shohei Ohtani was unanimously voted the American League Most Valuable Player, becoming the 23rd pitcher and first designated hitter to win the award.

Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher, the first Japanese player and the first Angels player to win the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award.

Shohei Ohtani was awarded the Silver Slugger Award for being the best offensive player at the designated hitter position in the American League, and was named to Time 100's list of most influential people of 2021, which culminated to many end-of-the-season-accolades.

Shohei Ohtani was named Associated Press AP Athlete of the Year, Sporting News Athlete of the Year, Baseball Digest Player of the Year and Baseball America Major League Player of the Year.

The rule will enable Shohei Ohtani to remain in the game after he is done pitching at his customary designated hitter spot instead of being switched to a defensive position like the outfield, something that he did seven times in 2021.

On March 25, Shohei Ohtani was named as the Opening Day starter for the Angels' 2022 season.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to start Opening Day as both the starting pitcher and the leadoff hitter.

Shohei Ohtani finished the game at 6 innings pitched with 1 hit, no runs, and 1 walk surrendered and 12 strikeouts, tying his career high.

Shohei Ohtani's induced 29 swings and misses became the most registered number of swings and misses in a game for 2022.

Shohei Ohtani recorded two home runs, including a grand slam, on May 9,2022 against the Tampa Bay Rays, marking the second time of the 2022 season and the eighth time in his career for Shohei Ohtani to record a multi-homer game, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki for the most by a Japanese-born player in MLB history, while going 3-for-4 and a career-high five RBIs.

On May 14,2022 Shohei Ohtani hit his 100th career MLB home run, making him the third Japanese-born player with at least 100 homers in the majors, trailing only Hideki Matsui with 175 and Ichiro Suzuki with 117.

Shohei Ohtani joined Babe Ruth as the only players with at least 100 home runs and at least 250 strikeouts as a pitcher.

On July 6,2022, against the Miami Marlins, Shohei Ohtani made MLB history again by becoming the first player since RBI became an official statistic in 1920 to record 10 strikeouts as a pitcher, two RBIs as a batter, and a stolen base all in a single game.

Shohei Ohtani became the fourth Angels player with multiple seasons of 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases prior to the All-Star break and the eighth Major Leaguer since earned runs were official in 1913 to record 40-plus strikeouts and zero earned runs in a four-start span.

Related searches

Shohei Ohtani announced; however, that he would only participate as a hitter in the All Star Game, even though he was considered as a candidate to start for the AL team.

Shohei Ohtani joined Babe Ruth in an exclusive 10-homer, 10-win club; moved up on the all-time home run list for Japanese-born players; and set a single-season career high in strikeouts.

Shohei Ohtani tossed six scoreless innings to earn his 10th win of the season for the first time in his Major League career.

Shohei Ohtani's 25th home run of the season was his 118th career home run, which surpassed Ichiro Suzuki's 117 career home runs to become second place on the all-time Major League home run list for Japanese-born players.

Shohei Ohtani led the Majors with a home-to-first average time of 4.

The Angels announced that Shohei Ohtani was named as both the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2022 and the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates.

Shohei Ohtani was selected to Japan's Under-18 National Team that eventually finished in sixth place at the 2012 18U Baseball World Championship 18U Baseball World Championship in Seoul, Korea.

Shohei Ohtani was the ace of Japan's pitching staff, which featured Kenta Maeda.

Shohei Ohtani was named to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation All-World Team and was named the 2015 WBSC Baseball Player of the Year.

Shohei Ohtani was on the 28-man roster for the Japan National Baseball Team of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury.

Shohei Ohtani has been compared to Justin Verlander by some MLB scouts with his ability and affinity to throwing harder in high-leverage spots and later in games.

Shohei Ohtani is a designated hitter and occasional outfielder known for being able to hit with homerun power.

Scouts have timed Shohei Ohtani running from the batter's box to first base in as little as 3.

Since gaining national and international attention as a high school phenom, Shohei Ohtani is Japan's most celebrated athlete and has faced intense media pressure scrutiny with the Japanese press his whole adult life.

When Shohei Ohtani announced in September 2017 that he wanted to pursue a career in MLB, he signed with CAA Sports for representation.

Shohei Ohtani is represented by agent Nez Balelo of CAA Sports since 2017.

Shohei Ohtani was offered Japan's national honor, the People's Honour Award, by the Prime Minister of Japan in recognition of his accomplishments, but Shohei Ohtani rejected it, saying it was "still too early" for such an award.

Shohei Ohtani is the cover athlete of MLB The Show 22 and is the first Asian player to be featured as the cover star of MLB: The Show, as well as the first Asian athlete to be featured on the cover of a video game in the United States centered on the four major sports.

On February 9,2022, Shohei Ohtani appeared in the Nintendo Direct to promote MLB The Show 22, as it was the first installment in the franchise to appear on a Nintendo console.

The use of Shohei Ohtani to promote it was seen as tying to his Japanese nationality, as Nintendo is based in Japan.

Related searches

On July 20,2021, Shohei Ohtani signed an exclusive multiyear memorabilia deal with Fanatics.

In 2021, Shohei Ohtani had an estimated MLB league-leading $6 million in annual endorsement deals, which included Asics, Descente, Japan Airlines, Nishikawa Co.

On November 16,2021, it was announced that Shohei Ohtani joined cryptocurrency exchange FTX as a global ambassador, partnering on various animal charitable initiatives.