Shohei Ohtani

Background

Shohei Ohtani is a professional baseball player who has been extraordinary for many years. He was born July 5, 1994, in Japan to Toru and Kayoko Ohtani. He attended Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan, where he was a high school pitcher in baseball. He was born into an athletic family as his father was a corporate league baseball player and his mother was a national-level badminton player.

Ohtani’s career took off to a great start from high school as he broke the record for the fastest pitch in baseball. He joined the 18U Baseball World Championship in 2012, and at the end of the game, he had the best record of 0-1 win-loss with 16 strikeouts. Subsequently, he aspired to go to the U.S. to play in the big leagues. He soon gained international attention as he got the interest of the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2012, he decided not to play as a professional in Japan but played for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In 2014, he set the record for the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher. The jersey he wore for the game ended up being sold for $17,000 at the All-Star 2014 Charity Auction. He was honored in 2016 with the Nippon Professional Most Valuable Player Award. In 2017, he signed a deal with Los Angeles Angels, who acquired him as a hitter and pitcher. In 2021, he competed in the Home Run Derby and set the record for the most home runs. He received $150,000 for his participation and decided to give out his earnings as a “thank you” donation to 30 Angels employees, which included trainers, media relations officers, and clubhouse workers. As of 2021, Ohtani has a couple of endorsements like Japan Airlines, Asics, Hugo Boss, Topps, and Fanatics. He joined FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, as its global ambassador.

In Japan, Ohtani made a mark for himself that would make him one of the greatest baseball players to be remembered in history. He is known as ‘yakyū shōnen,’ which means ‘a kid who lives, breathes, and eats baseball.’ He is not as fluent in English as he would like to be and prefers to use an interpreter to translate from Japanese to English for him during media rounds. He allows his parents to care for his finances, and it is reported that his mother pays about $1,000 into his bank account, which he rarely uses.