The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani smashes a home run at Oakland Coliseum. By Keisuke Mizushima’s Sankei)
Common metaphors for the improbable include “a flower growing out of a rock” and “the sun rising in the west.” That a Japanese ballplayer should be declared a “home run king” in Major League Baseball has to be considered another example of the seemingly impossible. Shohei Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Angels, is currently reveling in the pleasure of having Һit 44 home runs this season, making him the American League home run king.
The achievement performed by Ohtani has shown us that everything is possible and that conventional wisdom may be challenged.
A home run is one of the most desired feats in baseball. Typically, Japanese baseball players lack the size and power to compete with their major league counterparts. This meant they pretty much gave up hope of ever being able to compete on an even playing field with the big leaguers.
Ichiro Suzuki was the most successful Japanese player in the MLB before Ohtani arrived in 2018. He used his quickness and baseball savvy to become a star player in the major leagues. However, he was never regarded as a power hitter of note. Hideo Kojima’s “The Greatest Hits of the Modern Era:” “The Greatest Hits of the Modern Era:” “The Greatest Hits of the Modern Era:”
What makes Ohtani even more impressive is that he also has a winning record in the pitching rotation (10-5). National Baseball Hall of Famer and 355-game winner Greg Maddux drew comparisons between Ohtani and Nolan Ryan, who in 1993 retired with more strikeouts (5,714) than any MLB pitcher in history, during a radio interview broadcast in the United States. However, he compared Ohtani’s batting to that of Barry Bonds, who holds the record for the most home runs ever Һit (762).
That is to sаy, Ohtani is considered a living miracle even in his home country of the United States. In two very distinct areas of the game, he excels.
Ohtani stated early on in his career that he aspired to play both pitcher and hitter, ultimately becoming the fourth pitcher in the rotation. Perhaps that’s the standard while playing baseball at a young age. The Japanese baseball community, however, largely disregarded his claim. Only a small group of players and baseball insiders, like as Hiromitsu Ochiai and Matsui, supported the proposal, and we still remember that.
The foresight of Nippon Ham’s management, especially Hideki Kuriyama, was crucial to Ohtani’s success. Kuriyama ignored the naysayers and encouraged Ohtani to develop his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s, and the Angels have similarly let him to be himself.
The ball is often sent further than anyone else’s when Ohtani swings the bat. His fastballs and curves are consistently terrific, setting new benchmarks with each passing season. The most remarkable thing about him, though, is his perpetually positive оutlооk.
When Japan’s national team, led by “A Kid Playing Ball” Kuriyama, won the World Baseball Classic in March 2023, Ohtani was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “Shohei’s greatness comes out when he reverts to being a kid playing ball,” Kuriyama said.
From across the ocean, this “baseball kid” whose personality personifies the pure fun and excitement of baseball has brought a ray of sunshine into Japanese culture. In addition, he appears to have a loyal fan base in the United States, baseball’s spiritual homeland.
When I asked him what he thought his next milestone would be, he answered, “I don’t know what to expect. In the future, I hope to raise the bar even higher and keep pushing myself to excel.
Ohtani, having had the obligatory elbow surgery, should be ready to make baseball fans happy once again by the 2024 season. In the same way that Shohei Ohtani has changed baseball, we hope that other great players will emerge.
