Within the past year, there has been a lot of coverage of a rising MLB player: Shohei Ohtani. His recent contract made history, and this achievement as a Japanese descent has inspired many across the globe.
Late last year, Ohtani became the highest-paid baseball player. According to Yahoo Sports, “Two-way star Shohei Ohtani signed a record-setting $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December.” However, the athlete decided to defer $680 million, meaning he will not be cashing out the majority of his earnings for at least another decade. Currently, Ohtani is only earning $2 million per year, not considering his earnings from endorsements and sponsorships.
Shohei Ohtani, age 30, was born and raised in Japan. His love for baseball stemmed from his family, and by the age of 17, “his top speed had reached a remarkable 99 miles (159 km) per hour,” as Britannica states. He debuted as a professional baseball player in 2012 for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, where he had a successful career, with the best earned run average (ERA) in the NPB league.
In 2017, Ohtani made his debut in the MLB. According to Britannica, “Ohtani was courted by all 30 MLB teams and ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Angels.” The star athlete was their designated hitter and batter, making him “the first full-time two-way MLB player in almost a century.”
With his spectacular resume, Ohtani is unquestionably an inspiration to many. His influence in his home country Japan appears to be particularly widespread, though. The Asahi Shimbun reports, “Japan has other big names on the world sports stage: golfer Hideki Matsuyama, boxer Naoya Inoue and tennis player Naomi Osaka… But no one matches Ohtani.”
Mother of an avid baseball fan, Yukako Takahsashi states, “The economy is down these days in Japan. Things are very difficult these days. But with Ohtani being successful, he is our hope.” Though not an avid fan herself, Takahsahi can still keep up with Ohtani updates via the local news, where he is often the top story.
Coach of a youth baseball team in Tokyo Shin Oebori explains, “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible… Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” as per The Asahi Shimbun. Late last year, Ohtani donated approximately 60,000 baseball gloves to elementary schools in Japan. According to NBC Los Angeles, Ohtani expressed that he “[hopes] the kids can spend their days happily with a lot of energy through baseball.”
The New York Times reported, “In Japan, where baseball is the most popular sport, Ohtani’s celebrity has reached stratospheric levels, akin to Michael Jordan or David Beckham, figures who transcended their field of play and whose fame turned them into international avatars for their home country.” It is also unveiled by Tokyo residents that even retired ladies keep up with the World Series in anticipation of Ohtani’s performance. The New York Times continues: “Japan has seen this story before, the obsession over conquering baseball heroes in the form of Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, who was World Series MVP for the Yankees in 2009.”
Shohei Ohtani is an excelling player with astonishing specs on the field. His influence extends beyond winning games and creating an exciting game; he is a symbol of hope and dreams for his home country. As Robert Whiting, an American author in Tokyo, told The New York Times: “But perhaps not since Nomo in the 1990s has a Japanese player embodied and lifted the national spirit.”
