About our Shohei Ohtani news
Latest news on Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese professional baseball player who plays as a pitcher and a designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is widely regarded as one of the best two-way players in the history of the sport, and has been compared to legends such as Babe Ruth and Bullet Rogan. He is also the first player in MLB history to be selected as an All-Star as both a pitcher and a position player.
Ohtani started his professional career in Japan, where he played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from 2013 to 2017. He won the Pacific League MVP award, the Japan Series championship, and the Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize in 2016. He also represented Japan in international competitions, such as the World Baseball Classic and the WBSC Premier12, where he won the MVP award in 2023.
Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, after being posted by the Fighters. He made an immediate impact in his rookie season, hitting 22 home runs and posting a 3.31 ERA in 10 pitching starts. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award and the Edgar Martinez Award for the best designated hitter. However, he also suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, which limited his pitching appearances in 2019 and 2020.
Unfortunately, Ohtani's pitching career was put in jeopardy when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow during a start against the Cincinnati Reds on August 23, 2023. He left the game after throwing only 26 pitches with reduced velocity and arm fatigue. The Angels announced that he would not pitch for the rest of the season, and that he might need a second Tommy John surgery, which could sideline him for most or all of 2024. Ohtani continued to play as a designated hitter after his injury, but his future as a two-way player was uncertain.