A Shohei Ohtani They call him “the unicorn of baseball” and the “Babe Ruth of the 21st century” because it is the prototype of the perfect baseball player. A different genius with the bat, one of those who appear from time to time to make history. A phenomenal two-way player, who throws and hits with the same efficiency and the same power, as only the legendary Great Child between 1914 and 1935, and? has just revolutionized American sports with a historic move.
His arrival at Los Angeles Dodgers, the neighboring team of the Angels in which he played MLBcatapulted his popularity so much that it overshadowed the Messimania that had been unleashed in the North American country when the Argentine landed in the Inter Miami. And the contract that the Japanese signed for 700 million dollars for 10 years allowed him to unseat Leowhich had received 674 million in Barcelonaas the highest paid athlete of all time.
Ohtani will not collect the full $700 million over the course of his contract. He will receive only two million per season and The remaining 680 million will be collected between 2034 and 2043, an initiative that he had himself, according to sources close to the Dodgers. This will allow his new franchise to have more room for maneuver in the present and build better squads to fight for the crowns. “Money is not my priority; it’s not at the top of my list,” the player said.
“We are facing one of the best baseball players in history,” he said. Andrew Friedmangeneral manager of the Dodgers, at the presentation of his new jewel, who arrived from the other side of the world to change the history of a sport that perhaps would never have known if it were not for the United States.
Ohtani was born in Oshua city in the Japanese prefecture of Iwate, in June 1994, when baseball was already deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
Horace Wilsonan American professor hired by the Japanese government in order to modernize the Asian country’s educational institutions, had introduced it in the early 1870s, promoting its practice among his students at Keiko Gakko University.
In 1878, Hiroshi Hiraoka, who had studied in the United States and was familiar with the discipline, created the first Japanese baseball team in the company where he worked. And the evolution accelerated: by 1890, important cities such as Yokohama and Ichiko had their own teams; In 1936 the first professional league was founded; and in the 1950s there were already enough teams to form two Leagues, the Central and the Peacefulwho meet today at the Japanese Professional League.
As it expanded, baseball caught the Japanese. Among them, to Torufather of the new Dodger star, who was an amateur player and passed his passion on to his children, with whom he played at home when he returned from work.
Shohei grew up breathing baseball and little by little he developed and polished that unique natural talent which allows you to play with the same comfort from the position of pitcher -he throws more than 160 kilometers per hour and is the best starter in the Major Leagues- or when he takes the bat. A duality that does not exist in modern baseball, which transformed it into two players in one.
When Ohtani finished high school, he began to think about moving to the United States, but he was convinced to stay in his country to gain experience. He played between 2013 and 2017 in the Nippon-Ham Fighters from Sapporo. When she landed in the Angels, in 2018 and at the age of 23, she was alreadyRa a Japanese sports superstar. And it still is: his MLB games are broadcast live on Japanese television and there is a program dedicated to him every day, even on days when he doesn’t have a game.
In the United States, Shohei, who is 1.93 meters tall, defied the the state in which of the Major Leagues, where each player focuses on becoming the best in a position. He showed that it is not impossible to be an outstanding all-around player.
In just six years, Ohtani grew tired of breaking records and achieving personal achievements. In the first season he was elected Rookie of the Year. In 2021 she received the award as MVP from American League and became the first player in MLB history with more than 10 home runs (he hit 46) and more than 20 stolen bases as a batter, and more than 100 strike-outs in one season.
In 2022 their numbers were better. And this year he guided his country’s team to win its third World Classic on American soil. When he was on his way to breaking his own records, an injury to his right elbow (the one on his throwing arm) forced him to undergo surgery and he will not pitch until 2025. He was once again distinguished as the Most valuable Player of their league and selected as part of the ideal team, as in 2021.
His enormous talent was not enough for the Angels to fight for a title: The Japanese still could not play a playoff game. That’s why when at the end of the season he became a free agent, he opened the doors for a move and, after evaluating several options, he decided on the Dodgers.
“When I had the meeting with the Dodgers, they said they consider it a failure to have won only one championship in the last decade (it was in 2020). When I heard that, I knew it was about winning and that’s exactly how I feel,” Ohtani said. in his presentation.
The juicy contract they offered him surely also weighed. It is the largest by volume (not by annual salary) in the history of the MLB, exceeding the 426.5 million for which Mike Trout he signed with the Angels in 2019.
The Japanese won over the American public with talent and a clean image, respectful of the values of sport and humility: he signed his new contract with a watch Seiko which costs less than 5 thousand dollars, a fairly “modest” piece for someone with his bank account. They admire him and love him so much in that country that in two days the sale of his new shirt with the number 17 broke the record that had been established by Inter Miami’s “10” with the name of Messi.
Tired of breaking records on and off the court, Ohtani will look for a goal next year that still remains elusive: fight for an MLB title. The United States enjoys its Japanese “unicorn”, an extraordinary talent not seen for a hundred years and who revolutionized the cradle of baseball.