Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani (born July 5, 1994) is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Because of his contributions as a hitter and as a pitcher, a rarity as a two-way player, Ohtani's prime seasons have been considered among the greatest in baseball history, with some comparing them favorably to the early career of Babe Ruth.

Considered early on as an elite two-way player, Ohtani was the first pick of the Fighters in the 2012 NPB draft. He played for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder and won the 2016 Japan Series with them. The Fighters posted Ohtani to MLB after the 2017 season, and he signed with the Angels, soon winning the 2018 American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award. Following an injury-plagued 2019 and 2020, Ohtani hit 46 home runs and struck out 156 batters en route to winning his first AL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2021. For his statistically unprecedented two-way season, Ohtani received the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award. In 2022, he became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in one season, finishing third in the AL with 219 strikeouts as a pitcher.

Ohtani won his second unanimous AL MVP in 2023, leading the AL with 44 home runs while recording 10 wins as a pitcher. He became the first player to win multiple unanimous MVPs and the first Japanese-born player to win a league home run title. After the 2023 season, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the largest contract in professional sports history at the time. Unable to pitch in 2024 while recovering from a second elbow injury, Ohtani played as a DH for the Dodgers. He was unanimously named the 2024 National League (NL) MVP after becoming the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season and won the 2024 World Series in his first MLB postseason appearance. Ohtani returned to pitching in 2025 and set a Dodgers franchise record with 55 home runs in a season, winning his second consecutive NL MVP unanimously and becoming the only player to win multiple MVP awards in each league. He was named the 2025 NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in Game 4 en route to capturing back-to-back championships in the 2025 World Series.

Internationally, Ohtani represents Japan. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he led Team Japan to their third championship and was named the tournament's MVP. The 2023 final against the United States was one of the most-watched baseball games in history, culminating in Ohtani striking out Angels teammate and U.S. captain Mike Trout on a full count, securing a 3–2 win.

Early life

Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994, in Mizusawa (now part of Ōshū), Iwate, Japan, to Kayoko and Toru Ohtani. His mother Kayoko was a national-level badminton player in high school and his father Tōru (徹), who worked at a local automobile manufacturing plant, was an amateur baseball player who played in the Japanese Industrial League.

Ohtani is the youngest of three children. He has one older sister, Yuka, and one older brother, Ryuta (龍太), who is also an amateur baseball player in the Japanese Industrial League.

In Japan, Ohtani was known as a "yakyū shōnen" (野球少年; "baseball boy")—a kid who lives, eats and breathes baseball. Coached by his father, he displayed an aptitude for the game at an early age. He 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.

Amateur career

As a teenager, Ohtani could have played baseball for any powerhouse high school team in big cities such as Osaka or Yokohama. Instead, he opted to stay local, selecting Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Northern Japan, the same high school as pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, whom he admired; Ohtani competed there as a swimmer and played baseball. Ohtani's high school baseball coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, said that he was a fast swimmer who could have competed in the Olympics.

Under Sasaki's guidance, Hanamaki Higashi's players lived on campus, returning home for only six days a year. Sasaki would assign toilet cleaning chores to Ohtani, to teach him humility. In 2012, Ohtani threw a 99 mph (160 km/h) fastball as an 18-year-old high school pitcher, which at the time, had set a Japanese high school baseball record until it was surpassed by Rōki Sasaki's 101 mph (163 km/h) fastball in 2018. Ohtani threw the pitch in the Japanese national high school baseball championship tournament, commonly called Summer Koshien. In the 2012 18U Baseball World Championship, Ohtani had an 0–1 win–loss record with 16 strikeouts, eight walks, five hits, five runs, and a 4.35 earned run average (ERA) in 10+1⁄3 innings pitched.

Professional career

Ohtani expressed a desire to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) directly after high school and attracted attention from several teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. On October 21, 2012, he announced his decision to pursue a career in MLB rather than turn professional in Japan. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters selected Ohtani in the 2012 NPB Draft despite the strong possibility that he would not join the club. After an exclusive negotiating period, he agreed to sign with the Fighters with the intention of playing several seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) before a potential move to MLB. The Fighters indicated that they would allow Ohtani to play as both a pitcher and a position player, whereas the Dodgers, regarded as his preferred MLB destination, were not willing to use him in a two-way role. This opportunity ultimately convinced him to remain in Japan. Upon joining the Fighters, Ohtani was assigned the No. 11 jersey, which had previously been worn by pitcher Yu Darvish.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2013–2017)

2013: Rookie season, NPB All-Star

Ohtani made his debut at age 18 in the Fighters' season-opening game on March 29, 2013, playing as a right fielder. He was selected for a Pacific League roster spot for the 2013 All-star game. As a pitcher, he finished the season with a 3–0 record in 11 starts. As a rookie Ohtani was used in both the outfield (leading the Fighters with 51 games in right) and as a pitcher. He was the second Nippon Pro Baseball (NPB) 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. He 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. He was the second player, following Osamu Takechi (also 1950), to start a game as a pitcher, bat in the heart of the order (3rd through 5th), and get a hit and a run batted in (RBI) in that game. He missed time during the year with a right ankle sprain and right cheekbone fracture.

For the season, Ohtani was 3–0 with a 4.23 ERA, 33 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 61+2⁄3 innings. and hit .238/.284/.376 in 204 plate appearances. He had seven outfield assists and one error. His 8 hit batsmen tied Manabu Mima, Tadashi Settsu, Hideaki Wakui and Ryoma Nogami for fifth in the Pacific League. Ohtani received 4 of the 233 votes for the Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (Pacific League), tying Tatsuya Sato for a distant second behind Takahiro Norimoto. During his five-year tenure with the Fighters, Ohtani opted to live in the team's provided dormitories, while his parents oversaw his finances.

2014: Second NPB All-Star selection

Throughout the entire season, Ohtani performed double-duty as a pitcher and outfielder, utilizing his strong throwing arm as well as his impressive batting skills. As a hitter, he batted .274, with 28 extra-base hits (including 10 home runs), 31 RBIs, and a .842 on-base plus slugging percentage in 234 plate appearances. As a pitcher, he was 11–4 with a 2.61 ERA in 24 starts and struck out 179 (third in NPB) in 155+1⁄3 innings. His 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) led the league and opponents hit just .223 against him.