Years Before His MLB Superstardom, Shohei Ohtani Amazed Onlookers With His Practice Displays

Shohei Ohtani made his name known across the wide universe of MLB in a brief time. In his 5 years of major league career, Shotime has bagged 15+ homers and 10+ steals in multiple seasons, making him an uncredible player to hold that high of a record. Two-way Ohtani has proven that he’s in the game for a long time, regardless of which team he plays for.

Arguably called the one of the greatest slugger of this generation, Shohei Ohtani has proven his grit on the diamond time and time again. Ohtani’s spectacular career in Japan, which made him noticeable in the MLB in the first place, deserves a noteworthy mention. It seems that he used to leave the bystanders bedazzled by his practice performances.

Shohei Ohtani: Before his MLB stardom

Ohtani debuted in the Nippon Baseball League, playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from 2013 to 2017. He played with jersey number 11, the same as his idol and ex-Fighters player, pitcher Yu Darvish. In his first game back in March, Ohtani struck out at his first at-bat; he hit twice and scored one RBI against the Saitama Seibu Lions after that. His first pitch came two months later, when Ohtani allowed two runs across five innings against the Yakult Swallows. Two more months later, in July, he scored his first homer in the NPB.

Across his minor league career, Ohtani bagged an average .238 BA as an outfielder, alongside 3 homers across 54 games; however, his tricky play style came into being just a while later. Ohtani showed his true power by hitting 15 doubles like a finely-tuned gap-to-gap hitter. He became the sixth 18-year-old to display such talent in the NPB. As a pitcher, Ohtani bagged a 4.23 ERA in 13 games, winning all three decisions in the league across 61 2/3 innings. He left the onlookers shaken with his pristine batting practices before games, scoring countless homers as others kept observing this force of nature razing through the diamond.

Kyodo News journalist Jim Allen used to exhaustively cover Ohtani’s performances. He once dismissed Ohtani as just another pitcher who hit some. His review changed in a matter of seasons, leading him to state “He was on the news every night.”. When the fans voted Ohtani to be the right fielder on the Pacific League All-Stars team, his power was more than evident. Ohtani went on to become a two-time PL Best Nine Pitcher, a 2016 PL MVP, and the 2016 Japan Series Champion. That was just a fraction of what was awaited by MLB upon his initiation.

Shohei Ohtani: High School Performances and MLB Career

Before entering the minor leagues, Shohei Ohtani played for his Hanamaki Higashi High School’s baseball team; it is the same school where Ohtani’s other idol, Yusei Kikuchi, studied as well. After joining the school’s baseball team, Ohtani set three goals for himself: to become the number one Japanese player, to record the fastest speed in Japan at 100 miles, and to be the first pick of the eight drafting teams. He receded into the school’s baseball dormitory to have more chances to focus on his form. In his first year, Ohtani’s coach, Sasaki Hiroshi, observed that Shotime would throw a 160-kmph fastball one day. Currently, Ohtani’s record stands at 164.1 kmph, proving the farsightedness of coach Hiroshi.

Ohtani became the first Japanese player in the MLB to lead the AL in home runs with 44 homers in 2023. He finished this season by becoming the first player to ever win an American League MVP award twice in unanimous votes, his first win being the one in 2021. Despite suffering from injuries that couldn’t let him have a consistent form on the field, his year-round performance got him an AL Outstanding Player Award and his second career Silver Slugger Award. Not a bad record for a legend-in-the-making, is it?

Read More: Two-Way Phenom Shohei Ohtani Wins Second AL MVP Award Amidst Historic Free Agency

Shohei Ohtani might not get back on the pitch in full form until early 2025; but one thing remains certain: the fans’ favorite unicorn is here to leave a mark and break multitudes of MLB records, a form rarely seen in the history of baseball. Will his name supersede that of Babe Ruth’s or Willie Mays’? Only time will tell, although it doesn’t seem like too much to achieve. Game on, Shotime!

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