If you're not aware of Shohei Ohtani, he is the second coming of Babe Ruth; a once-in-a-lifetime baseball player from Japan who continues to do things no human has ever accomplished in the sport's long history.
After a dominating stint in the Nippon Pro Baseball Pacific League, he came to the MLB and instantly won AL Rookie of the Year in 2018. In 2021 he won AL MVP, and Commissioner Rob Manfred formally recognized him as "historically significant" and "a major impact on the sport." He pitches and hits at an All-Star level, and has made the All-Star game at both positions.
Last night, he led Japan to win the World Baseball Classic over the US, and not only did he hit, he closed out the game on the mound against Angels teammate and former MVP himself Mike Trout. The results were instantly iconic, and the following tweets should show just how impossible this entire situation has seemed. Never again will we see something like Shohei, and he deserves to be the world class athlete and celebrity he is becoming.
If you aren't impressed, you should be. Mike Trout has had 3 swinging strikes in only 24 of his 6,174 career MLB plate appearances!pic.twitter.com/VTlcRnAgPH
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 22, 2023
Pedro complimenting Shohei is Fantastic. ❤️
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 22, 2023
[And Shohei looking embarrassed to get all that praise] pic.twitter.com/fWJJtrRNRD
Shohei Ohtani's game-winning strikeout, as called on Japanese television 🇯🇵🗣
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2023
(via @bubbaprog)pic.twitter.com/PvD0ud5N0Y
Ohtani’s pregame speech:
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 22, 2023
“Let’s stop admiring them… If you admire them, you can’t surpass them. We came here to surpass them, to reach the top. For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning.”
(h/t @dylanohernandez) pic.twitter.com/hh441AaAzJ
Yuta Watanabe rocking Shohei Ohtani’s jersey after tonight’s game
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 22, 2023
“He’s like God in Japan right now.” 🔥
(Via @NickFriedell ) pic.twitter.com/LFvflcejMA
2023 WBC MVP Shohei Ohtani sits down to talk about striking out Mike Trout and winning the 2023 World Baseball Classic.@kevinburkhardt | @AROD | @davidortiz pic.twitter.com/aw1qQ2htIP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 22, 2023
Former AL MVP.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 22, 2023
5x NPB All-Star.
$20M+ annually in endorsements.
His first time playing for Japan in 6 years.
Shohei Ohtani just struck out Mike Trout — his own teammate — to win Japan's first World Baseball Classic since 2009 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EbVp37WHbr
Shohei Ohtani receives his gold medal and his 2023 WBC MVP trophy!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 22, 2023
🥇🏆 pic.twitter.com/XddzKOb7ZR
Here's what reporters saw at the LoanDepot Park
Ohtani’s ability to excel at both pitching and hitting — skills which are usually mutually exclusive in baseball — makes him a once-in-a-generation player, although it may be more appropriate to start calling him a once-in-a-century player. Indeed, his statistics in Tuesday’s final haven’t been witnessed in top-flight American baseball since Babe Ruth achieved similar numbers more than 100 years ago.
[Joseph Palmer/The Guardian]
A star is born
Ohtani has always understood his own star power. He started the 2021 All-Star Game at pitcher and DH because, he said, 'There's a lot of people that want to watch it and I want to make those guys happy.' On Monday, he launched balls off the scoreboard during batting practice to send a message to Team Mexico: 'If you leave a ball up there,' he said, 'that’s what’s going to happen.'
[Stephanie Apstein/Sports Illustrated]
The show's not over
When Trout returns in 2026, he'll have company. In the aftermath of his greatest victory, Shohei Ohtani said he'll be back too. And if the baseball gods are still smiling on the WBC, it will include Round two.
[Jeff Passan/ESPN]
