25 Cool Interesting Facts About Shohei Ohtani That You Should Know About

40 cool facts about Shohei Ohtani

1. Shohei Ohtani is a two-way player who pitches, hits and plays outfield for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the first player in MLB history to be selected as an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter, which he achieved in 2021 and 2022. He is also the first player since Babe Ruth in 1919 to hit 10 home runs and pitch 50 innings in a season, which he did in 2021.
2. Shohei Ohtani won the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2021, becoming the first Japanese-born player to do so. He beat out fellow finalists Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien with 30 of the 30 first-place votes. He had a historic season in which he led the majors with 47 home runs, stole 26 bases, scored 103 runs, and slugged .624 as a hitter, while also going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, 156 strikeouts, and a .204 opponent batting average as a pitcher.
3. Shohei Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994 in Ōshū, Iwate, Japan. He started playing baseball at the age of five and was a standout pitcher and hitter in high school. He was drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2012 as the first overall pick.
4. Shohei Ohtani played for the Fighters from 2013 to 2017, winning the Pacific League MVP award in 2016 and the Japan Series championship in 2016. He was a five-time NPB All-Star and a three-time Best Nine selection as a pitcher and a designated hitter. He had a career NPB batting average of .286 with 48 home runs and 166 RBIs, and a career NPB pitching record of 42-15 with a 2.52 ERA and 624 strikeouts.
5. Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017 after being posted by the Fighters for $20 million. He chose the Angels over six other finalists: the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. He signed a six-year contract worth $22.315 million with the Angels, which included a $2.315 million signing bonus.
6. Shohei Ohtani won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2018, becoming the fourth Japanese-born player to do so after Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), Ichiro Suzuki (2001), and Hideki Matsui (2003). He hit .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs, and pitched to a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 10 starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in October.
7. Shohei Ohtani hit for the cycle on June 13, 2019 against the Tampa Bay Rays, becoming the first Japanese-born player and the seventh Angels player to do so. He singled in the first inning, doubled in the third inning, tripled in the fifth inning, and homered in the seventh inning. He finished the game with four hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
8. Shohei Ohtani was named the 2023 World Baseball Classic MVP after leading Japan to its third title in the tournament. He hit .435 with a home run and 10 walks, and pitched to a 1.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts in two starts and one relief appearance. He also struck out his Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out of the championship game against the USA, capping off a historic performance
9. Shohei Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season while also pitching at least 10 games. He achieved this feat in 2021, when he hit 47 home runs and stole 26 bases, while also pitching in 23 games and winning nine of them.
10. Shohei Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to hit a home run on his birthday while also being the starting pitcher. He did this on July 5, 2021, when he homered against the Boston Red Sox on his 27th birthday and also pitched seven innings and struck out four batters.
11. Shohei Ohtani is the first Japanese-born player to participate in the MLB Home Run Derby. He announced his participation in June 2021 and became one of the favorites to win the event at Coors Field in Denver. He hit 28 home runs in the first round, but lost to Juan Soto in a thrilling swing-off.
12. Shohei Ohtani has a nickname of “Shotime” and is also known as “yakyū shōnen” (a kid who lives, eats, and breathes baseball) in Japan. He has a huge fan base both in his home country and abroad, and has been compared to Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, and Mike Trout.
13. Shohei Ohtani comes from an athletic family. His father, Toru Ohtani, played semi-professional baseball, and his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is an accomplished badminton player. His older brother, Ryuta Ohtani, also played baseball and influenced Shohei’s development as a player.
14. Shohei Ohtani could throw almost 100 mph in high school. According to The Ringer, Ohtani attracted the attention of MLB scouts in 2012 when he set a Japanese high school record by throwing a 99.4-mph pitch for Hanamaki Higashi High School.
15. Shohei Ohtani also swam in high school. Ohtani’s high school baseball coach Hiroshi Sasaki instructed his players to swim as part of their workouts, according to a 2021 Los Angeles Times column. Sasaki said Ohtani was particularly fast in the pool. “The swimming coach here said he could have made the Olympics,” Sasaki said, according to the column.
16. Shohei Ohtani won the Nippon Professional Baseball Home Run Derby in 2016. He hit 11 home runs in the final round to beat Yuki Yanagita of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also won the MVP award for Game 2 of the NPB All-Star Series the next day.
17. Shohei Ohtani has had multiple walk-up songs. MLB players usually have a signature song that plays when they walk toward the batter’s box or the pitcher’s mound. Ohtani has had several—including “Twinbow” by Slushii and Marshmello and “Do Or Die” by Afrojack and Thirty Seconds to Mars, according to the Angels official site, as well as the theme from Game of Thrones.
18. Shohei Ohtani is playing for the Angels on a (relative) bargain. Ohtani was second in MVP voting in 2022 but isn’t even the most or second most expensive player on his team. Ohtani’s contract is worth $30 million this season, according to Baseball Reference. That puts him behind teammates Anthony Rendon ($38.6 million) and Mike Trout ($37.1 million).
19. Shohei Ohtani has a nickname of “Shotime” and is also known as “yakyū shōnen” (a kid who lives, eats, and breathes baseball) in Japan. He has a huge fan base both in his home country and abroad, and has been compared to Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, and Mike Trout.
20. Shohei Ohtani comes from an athletic family. His father, Toru Ohtani, played semi-professional baseball, and his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is an accomplished badminton player. His older brother, Ryuta Ohtani, also played baseball and influenced Shohei’s development as a player.
21. Shohei Ohtani has a nickname of “Shotime” and is also known as “yakyū shōnen” (a kid who lives, eats, and breathes baseball) in Japan. He has a huge fan base both in his home country and abroad, and has been compared to Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, and Mike Trout.
22. Shohei Ohtani comes from an athletic family. His father, Toru Ohtani, played semi-professional baseball, and his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is an accomplished badminton player. His older brother, Ryuta Ohtani, also played baseball and influenced Shohei’s development as a player.
23. Shohei Ohtani has a nickname of “Shotime” and is also known as “yakyū shōnen” (a kid who lives, eats, and breathes baseball) in Japan. He has a huge fan base both in his home country and abroad, and has been compared to Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, and Mike Trout.
24. Shohei Ohtani comes from an athletic family. His father, Toru Ohtani, played semi-professional baseball, and his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is an accomplished badminton player. His older brother, Ryuta Ohtani, also played baseball and influenced Shohei’s development as a player.
25. Shohei Ohtani added another accolade to his impressive resume by winning the World Baseball Classic MVP award in 2023. He was the star of the Japanese national team that defeated the USA 5-4 in the final at Dodger Stadium. He showcased his two-way skills throughout the tournament, hitting a home run against Mexico, drawing 10 walks in six games, and pitching effectively as a starter and a reliever. He faced his Angels teammate Mike Trout in the ninth inning of the final, and struck him out on a 99-mph fastball to seal the victory for Japan. It was a memorable moment for Ohtani, who became the first player to win both the WBC MVP and the MLB MVP awards.