Japan defeated the United States to win the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, thanks in part to the efforts of the Los Angeles Angels pitcher and 2021 American League MVP.
In 2023, the greatest “Sho” on the planet—well, a baseball field, anyway—is already off to an incredible start.
Leading the Japanese national team past the United States in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball, added a world championship to his resume. In the final inning that decided the championship, he struck out Mike Trout, an Angels teammate.
Here are five things you might not know about the 28-year-old Japanese sensation from Oshu and his ascent to baseball fame, in advance of MLB Opening Day on March 30.
In high school, Ohtani had a throw speed of about 100 mph.
MLB scouts reportedly took notice of Ohtani in 2012 after he broke the Japanese high school record with a 99.4 mph pitch while playing for Hanamaki Higashi High School, according to The Ringer. After high school, Ohtani had intended to sign with an MLB team, but he chose to begin his career in Japan in 2013 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Ohtani was a high school swimmer as well.
According to a 2021 Los Angeles Times article, Ohtani’s high school baseball coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, gave his players swimming instructions as part of their training. Ohtani, according to Sasaki, was especially quick in the pool. According to the editorial, Sasaki stated, “The swimming coach here said he could have made the Olympics.”
Ohtani is from a family of athletes.
Ohtani’s parents were both very successful athletes. According to the Associated Press, his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is a skilled badminton player, and his father, Toru Ohtani, was a semi-professional baseball player.
He is on a (relatively) cheap contract with the Angels.
Despite not even being the most or second most expensive player on his team, Ohtani finished second in the 2022 MVP poll. This season, Ohtani’s contract is worth $30 million, per Baseball Reference. This places him behind Mike Trout ($37.1 million) and colleague Anthony Rendon ($38.6 million).
He’s already among Japan’s top MLB sluggers.
Ohtani became the first Japanese MLB player to smash 30 or more home runs in a season after hitting 46 in 2021 and 34 in 2022. His 127 career home runs are second only to veteran New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui among players of Japanese descent.
Ohtani has a number of walk-up hits.
As MLB players approach the pitcher’s mound or batter’s box, their trademark song typically starts to play. Ohtani has had a number of, including the Game of Thrones theme and “Do Or Die” by Afrojack and Thirty Seconds to Mars, as well as “Twinbow” by Slushii and Marshmello, according to the Angels official website.
Notably, in an attempt to break a 13-game losing streak, the entire Angels club looked to Nickelback during the 2022 season. “Photograph” was Ohtani’s song.
Ohtani and Babe Ruth have the same record.
The only two big league players in history to hit at least ten home runs and win ten games as a pitcher in the same season are Ohtani and renowned slugger Babe Ruth. Ruth did the same thing in 1918, 104 years before Ohtani did, according to ESPN.
In the same season, Ohtani was both an All-Star pitcher and bat.
According to his Angels player notes, Ohtani became the first player to be selected to the MLB All-Star Game in 2021 as both a pitcher and a position player. On July 13 at Colorado’s Coors Field, he pitched a shutout inning and had no hits in his first two at-bats.
That year, Ohtani participated in the Home Run Derby as well and hit 28 home runs.
One of Ohtani’s favorite players is Yu Darvish of the Padres.
Ohtani’s favorite players are the aforementioned Hideki Matsui and fellow countryman Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres. Pitcher Darvish, who has 95 MLB victories in his career, and Ohtani were colleagues on the Japanese team that won the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday.
Ohtani is a long-term insomniac.
Ohtani attributes a large portion of his success on the field to his sleeping patterns. Ohtani often incorporates naps into his baseball schedule and will frequently sleep for ten or more hours in a single day, according to Kyodo News. He even has specially made pillows that are filled with extra material to keep them tall.
