Shohei Ohtani keeps finding ways to top himself. Baseball’s two-way superstar has been inspiring awe with his bat and arm from his days in Japan to joining the Los Angeles Dodgers on the once-biggest contract in North American pro sports.
Ohtani and the Dodgers are headed to the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays with a chance to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back championships.
That sets the stage for potentially more amazing feats by a player who rival players, managers and fans can’t help but marvel at while struggling to come up with new ways to describe his talents.
“Changing the way the game is being played right now,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “Pretty unbelievable.”
Here’s a look at some of Ohtani’s career highlights.
Through the roof at the Tokyo Dome
As a 22-year-old, Ohtani put on a power display at the WBSC Global Series in 2016, hitting a ball through the roof of the Tokyo Dome against the Netherlands. If the roof hadn’t stopped Ohtani’s blast, the ball was on course to travel over 525 feet (160 meters), according to media reports.
Ohtani is finally allowed to do it all — and delivers
On April 4, 2021, Ohtani pitched and hit in the same game for the first time. He started on the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against the Chicago White Sox.
In the first inning, he thew 100 mph on the mound and blasted a 451-foot home run off a 100-mph fastball in his first at-bat, making him the only player in the Statcast era to throw a 100 mph pitch and hit a ball thrown that fast in the same game.
A showdown with Mike Trout to end the World Baseball Classic
Ohtani struck out Angels teammate Mike Trout to end a 3-2 victory for Japan over the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic championship game in Miami on March 21, 2023.
With a 3-2 count, Trout swung at Ohtani’s 87-mph sweeper and whiffed to end it.
Ohtani raised both arms before throwing his glove and cap and getting mobbed by his teammates. Trout walked off the field with his head hung low. The two soon returned to spring training as teammates again.
A shutout and two homers in one doubleheader
Ohtani gave up one hit and struck out eight in his first complete game in MLB on July 27, 2023. He and the Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.
Ohtani’s legend grew in the nightcap at Detroit. He slugged two homers in an 11-4 win, becoming the second pitcher since 1900 to allow one hit or fewer during a shutout and homer twice on the same day.
Creating baseball’s 50/50 club — with a bang
Nothing like creating a club and becoming its first and so far only member.
In an otherworldly performance, Ohtani stole two bases and went 6 for 6 with three home runs and 10 RBIs to become the first player to hit 50 or more homers and steal 50 or more bases in a single MLB season.
That game in Miami on Sept. 19, 2024, occurred while Ohtani was rehabbing from a second major elbow surgery so he could return to the mound this season.
Ohtani wins his first World Series title in 2024
Ohtani won his first World Series championship in the first season of his $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. He never made the playoffs in his first six seasons with the Angels.
The Dodgers took the series 4-1 over the New York Yankees on Oct. 31, 2024.
The Series wasn’t Ohtani’s finest moment. He was just 2 for 19 and injured his left shoulder in Game 2. But the Dodgers wouldn’t have won their eighth World Series title without his contributions throughout the season. Ohtani went on to claim his third MVP award and first in the National League.
Three homers, 10 strikeouts and a postseason show for the history books
Ohtani stunned with a three-homer, 10-strikeout performance in helping the Dodgers compete a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers and clinch the NL Championship Series.
Of course, he earned NLCS MVP honors.
Ohtani had been in a slump through the first two rounds of the playoffs and the first three games of the NLCS.
But he awoke in a big way, with a power show that included a 469-foot blast — his second of the game — that soared out of Dodger Stadium. He also tossed six scoreless innings in his first start in nearly two weeks.
Then a smiling Ohtani urged Dodgers fans around the world to “enjoy a really good sake” in celebration.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb