Since joining Major League Baseball as an Anaheim Angel in 2018, now Los Angeles Dodgers star designated hitter and future pitcher Shohei Ohtani has not only found his spot in the record books but has forever made an impact on the game.
As a baseball fan myself, I see more in Ohtani than his numbers that excites me. He embodies what it means to be a Japanese baseball player.
Before Ohtani joined the league, I was not aware of the extreme practice schedule that Japanese baseball players are put through at a young age. As I scrolled through YouTube, I came across a video by the Made the Cut baseball channel. This video described in detail the hard work that Japanese little-league ballplayers go through and their heavy practice regimen.
For example, in Japan, instead of being exposed to better coaching when you get older as commonly done in the United States, the best coaches are used for the younger ballplayers. Shingo Ariyasu, a famous baseball coach in Japan, coached little league baseball through his 60s, coaching the Edogawa-Minami Baseball Club, who won the Little League World Series six times.
Every weekend, Coach Ariyasu trains over 80 ballplayers, ranging from ages 5-13.
This Japanese-style training is clearly outlined in Ohtani’s playstyle. His narrow batting-stance resembles that of Japanese Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki.
Growing up, Japanese baseball players are accustomed to the idea of yakyudo, which means the way of baseball. This idea is taught to Japanese little leaguers to ensure that they play baseball the right way – with grit, resilience, and repetition.
To help these players meet their goal, little league coaches often use the seiza punishment against lazy players – forcing them to sit with their backs straight up and resting against their heals for five straight minutes.
But what motivates them to work so hard? In Japan, high school baseball teams play year-round with the goal of participating in the Koshien baseball tournament, which happens twice a year, once in the spring and once in the summer, in the Hanshin Koshien Stadium.
Fulfilling that dream, Ohtani got to play in the summer Koshien tournament in 2012 at the age of 18. It was there that he gained worldwide recognition for his 100-mile-per-hour fastball.
Since Ohtani joined the MLB, the league has increased its global presence by hosting games in Western Europe, South Korea and Mexico. Ohtani has become a catalyst for those outside of North America learning about how amazing the game of baseball can be.
Then came the World Baseball Classic tournament. Started in 2006, it has been held every four years between 20 countries across the globe.
In 2023, the championship between Team Japan and Team USA was watched by 42.4% of households in Japan, according to the Sports Business Journal. Against Italy, 48.2% of households in Japan watch their team play in the quarterfinal – the most viewed game in the tournament’s history.
Both of these games have one major element in common. Ohtani pitched.
Currently, according to JapanBall.com, only 10 active MLB players were born in Japan, but the excitement surrounding Shohei has brought four new Japanese prospects to the league this season. Because Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship, that number is expected to increase.
Already in the 2024 baseball season, his first swith the Dodgers, Ohtani has broken two records and is currently in the running for his fourth MVP award.
The list goes on: In the April 21 matchup against the New York Mets, Ohtani hit a 423-foot home run off of Mets reliever Adrian Houser, sending Houser to the bullpen as of May 4.
That same home run, the 176th of Ohtani’s career, officially broke Hideki Matsui’s Major League Baseball record for the most homers hit by a Japanese-born player in the US. Growing up in Japan, Ohtani admired Matsui as a ballplayer, whose record he broke after not hitting a home run for seven consecutive games.
Only weeks later, on May 4, Ohtani broke another record, this time for most homers hit in a season for a Dodgers Japanese-born player. With his eighth home run of the season, he passed the current Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, who formerly held the record with seven homers in his three years with the team as an outfielder from 2002 to 2004.
Before Ohtani broke the record, Roberts joked with him saying that once he hit his 8th home run, he should buy a Porsche for the coach. Ohtani did just that, –although smaller and in the form of a toy purple car.
Ohtani is currently second in the FOX Sport 2024 National League MVP odds, trailing only fellow Dodger outfielder Mookie Betts. Since signing the record-breaking $700 million and 10-year contract with the Dodgers, officially making him the highest-paid player in MLB history, Ohtani has maintained his presence at the top of the MLB hitting rankings.
For the entirety of the 2024 season, Ohtani, normally a two-way player, will only be hitting, and not pitching or fielding. When he first joined the MLB, Ohtani immediately built excitement to around because he became the only consistently hitting and pitching player in the league. After the 2023 season, the three-time American League MVP got UCL surgery on his right elbow for him to make a pitching return in 2024.
As of May 13th, his batting average is .352, with 11 home runs and 56 hits, all top 5 in the league.
As Dodgers fan, these stats make me excited about the future. I’ve only gone to one game this year, but I have never had more hope for a team that I’ve grown up watching.
After witnessing two straight World Series losses in 2017 and 2018, and the pandemic World Series win in 2020, I know that Ohtani can bring an end to the madness.
