This 2018 MLB offseason has had many deals and trades, but one caught every MLB fan’s attention. Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese outfielder/pitcher who was going to play in the MLB and was looking for a team. In Japan he was an all-star player. There are many videos that display his power and pitching ability. In one video, Ohtani hit a ball through the stadium dome roof. He played for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, a team in the Japanese baseball league.
During his time on the team, he hit 48 home runs and pitched 624 strikeouts, he is a force to be reckoned with. He holds the recorded for the fastest pitch to ever be thrown by a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) player at 102.5 MPH. Riverbend Freshman CJ Thompson said, “It is great that you can a player from another league and country get an opportunity to play in the U.S.”
The Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and more were trying to make a deal with Ohtani. Teams were offering him over 100 million dollar deals. Shohei was looking for the right team for him and that would most likely bring him the most success. Sophomore Joe Martino said, “I wanted him to come to the Yankees so we would have a stacked team this year with Judge, Stanton, and Sanchez.”
Spring training was getting closer and he was still a free agent. The Los Angeles Angels offered him only 2.3 million and he took it even though he could’ve wait a little longer and got around a 200 million deal. When Ohtani chose the Angels, it showed the MLB and its fans how strong his love for the game was. Ohtani’s goal was to show and test his skill against some of the best baseball players in the world.
MLB spring training was in full flight with Angels fans optimistic about the new player they had acquired, but the players would not let him have a warm welcome because they wanted to see if he was as good as he appeared to be. After about ten games into this year’s spring training Ohtani was going 2 for 20 at the plate with about 8 strikeouts. Many sports analysts were asking questions about being overwhelmed and unprepared for the MLB. Spring training is over and opening day was in a few days. At that time he was 4 for 36 with 10 strikeouts. The Los Angeles Angels play the Oakland Athletics on March, 29. With his spring training performance, he many not last very long in the majors, however, Martino said, “Give him some time to get adjusted to the atmosphere and let him play baseball he will get better.” Shohei is willing to do and try anything for the game of baseball.
The Angels opening day game did not go as planned starting with a loss to the Athletics. Ohtani was the DH (designated hitter) and went 1 for 5 which is not very good. He now has his nerves out leaving him to just focus on the game, not the hype. However, because he has been able to knock out his first game jitters, they only way to go now is up.