Shohei Ohtani turns 30 on Friday, July 5. To mark his departure from his 20s into the next decade of adulthood, here's a compilation of notes and quotes about the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar.
The future MLB icon began his pro career as an 18-year-old rookie in 2013, appearing in 56 games in the outfield and making 18 pitching appearances for the NPB's Hokkaido Nippon Ham (now officially written as Nipponham) Fighters.
Ohtani attended Hanamaki Higashi High School. Like his younger compatriot, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi also starred for the school's baseball team.
The Iwate Prefecture native, known to legions of fans as "Shotime," is set to make his fourth consecutive MLB All-Star Game appearance on July 16 in Arlington, Texas, his first as a Dodger. He was selected by fans as the National League's starting designated hitter.
In September 2018, former Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, highlighted the youngster's accomplishments as an MLB rookie. "Although there are so many talented young players, I think that what Shohei did as a two-way player, coming to the major leagues has been special," Scioscia said.
Shohei Ohtani: Setting a New Standard
In 2023, Ohtani became the first two-time unanimous MVP award winner in MLB history. His impressive final season with the Los Angeles Angeles included an American League-best 44 home runs and a .304 batting average. On the mound, Ohtani recorded 10 wins.
A year earlier, Ohtani was the first player since Babe Ruth in 1918 to have at least 10 homers and 10 or more victories in the same season, finishing with a 34 round-trippers and 15 wins.
A kind gesture linking generations: Linda Ruth Tosetti, Ruth's granddaughter, sent a photo of the all-time great to Ohtani and wrote a short, encouraging note at the bottom of the photo, The Yomiuri Shimbun, reported in October 2021. The note read, "I look forward to meeting you! You are an exciting player and good for baseball! … Keep swinging."
An Appearance on '60 Minutes' in 2017
A year before he played in his first MLB game in 2018, Shohei Ohtani was featured on "60 Minutes," the long-running Sunday news magazine program on CBS. The segment was titled "Japan's Babe Ruth."
In April 2017, reporter Jon Wertheim introduced Ohtani to the American TV audience by saying, "The most fearsome starting pitcher in Japanese baseball is a 22-year-old named Shohei Ohtani, [and] the most prolific hitter in Japanese baseball is a 22-year-old named Shohei Ohtani."
In a nutshell, Ohtani's tremendous potential and already off-the-charts ability was succinctly described by Wertheim in the segment's intro: "Last year, he won the league's [All-Star] Home Run Derby and threw its fastest pitch ever (165 kph)."
Yankees' Judge Heaps Praise on Ohtani
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who broke the AL record for home runs with 62 in 2022, is one of Ohtani's biggest admirers.
In a July 2023 interview with ESPN, Judge said, "He's an amazing talent, a generational talent. I'm pretty blessed to get a chance to see him and compete against him on a daily basis."
World Baseball Classic Shined the Spotlight on Ohtani's Talent
Ohtani led Samurai Japan to a victory over the United States in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final. He slammed the door on his opponent's title hopes by striking out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout to end the game.
A Hollywood scriptwriter couldn't have come up with a more compelling final scene.
Ohtani did it all in the WBC, hitting .435 (10-for-23) with eight RBIs and 10 walks ― the latter stat a reminder of this: Opponents feared his powerful swing. And he had two wins and a save as an irreplaceable member of Japan's pitching staff with 11 strikeouts in 9⅔ innings.
After the championship game, USA manager Mark DeRosa marveled at Ohtani's impact on the sport.
"What he's doing in the game is what probably 90 percent of the guys in that clubhouse did in Little League or in youth tournaments, and he's able to pull it off on the biggest stages," DeRosa was quoted as saying by Canada's Sportsnet after the game. "He is a unicorn to the sport. I think other guys will try it, but I don't think they're going to do it to his level."
Hall of Famer Jeter Shares His Perspective
Five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter, who retired in 2014, appeared on Fox Sports' "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" podcast in October 2023. The New York Yankees legend spoke in awe about how Ohtani has made his mark as a once-in-generation MLB player, excelling as both a pitcher and a hitter.
"It's tough enough to just be a great hitter or an offensive player," Jeter said on the podcast, "or to be a great pitcher. For him to be able to do both, is pretty remarkable. I can't relate to it, I really can't relate to it. You run out of adjectives to describe him."
The Greatest Single Day of Shohei Ohtani's Career?
July 27, 2023, may be the ideal choice as the single day that best illustrates how great a player Ohtani is.
He tossed a one-hit shutout in the first game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. In Game 2, he belted a pair of home runs in the Angels' 11-4 rout in Motown.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch summed up the outcome of both games with a crystal-clear analysis. "He was the story of both games, [and] he was the best player on the field for both games."
Viewpoints on Shohei Ohtani from Shohei Ohtani
Asked about comparisons to Ruth in the sitdown interview with Wertheim, Ohtani pointed out that "he's like a mythical character to me, because it's such a long time ago and he was God to baseball. I shouldn't be compared to him, at least not right now."
Fast forward to 2024, his seventh MLB season. Aiming to help lead the Dodgers to the World Series, Ohtani has been a dynamic presence in the lineup. After clubbing his 25th home run of the season on June 26, he spoke to reporters after the Dodgers' eighth win in 10 games.
"We're getting into the swing of the season," Ohtani said, according to Kyodo News. "As we make various improvements, it feels easier to develop that momentum. It will be good if we can continue it while keeping focused on our ultimate goal."
Then on Tuesday, July 2, at Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium, where Ohtani whacked his 27th home run in the hosts' 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The two-run clout in the seventh inning off Justin Martinez to right-center put the Dodgers ahead 4-3.
What was Ohtani's reaction after slugging the go-ahead homer?
"It felt really great in a big situation," he told reporters through an interpreter.
Unbelievable Wealth and Fame
Nearly a decade later and in his prime as a baseball player, Shohei Ohtani owns the richest contract in MLB history ($700 million USD, or more than ¥110 billion JPY, for 10 seasons).
Firmly established as one of the sport's premier players, he's got a legitimate shot at vying for the NL Triple Crown this season ― currently third in batting (.316), second in homers and fifth in RBIs (64), through Thursday, July 4.
Winning the Triple Crown would elevate his fame to another stratosphere.
Returning to prominence as a pitcher would also excite and intrigue hard-core baseball fans and avid observers.
Still recovering from elbow surgery in September 2023, it remains to be seen if he will once again be a top-level pitcher in 2025.
The Last World
Longtime former Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, who broadcast the team's games from 1950-2016, didn't dish out superlatives without proper context or sharp perspective gleaned from spending decades around the game.
In July 2021, Scully, reacting to an explosive blast (Ohtani's 32nd homer of the season), tweeted, "Wow. Ohtani is in a class by himself."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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