How Shohei Ohtani Became The Worlds Greatest Athlete | The Base-ics: 大谷 翔平

if you know anything about baseball or have spent about 15 seconds in a room with me chances are you've probably heard of shi Otani the two-way Superstar from Japan that is taking over baseball in ways never seen before sh Otani is currently seen as one of the best athletes in the world and one of the best baseball players in history earning an Al MVP award unanimously not once but twice something no other player has ever done before finding himself among the best pitchers and top hitters during multiple Seasons as well as lending himself a 10year 700 million doll contract with the Dodgers the largest contract in sports history it's safe to say that there's probably something special about this guy but how did he get here hi my name is Scarlet and this is the basics shoh Otani the youngest of three children was born on July 5th 1994 in Misawa OSU Japan in the I prefecture to his mother Kyoko Otani and father toru Otani Shi was described as a daring bold and adventurous kid he was always willing to try things other kids were just too scared to regardless of the risks Otani was introduced to sports from a very young age his father was a semi-professional baseball player that played for the Japanese industrial baseball league and his mother was a national level badminton player his eldest brother rayuda also expressed great interest in baseball he later went on to become an amateur baseball player in the Japanese industrial league as well as a Toyota Motor East Japan team he now plays as a center fielder while also serving as the team's coach Otani began playing baseball around his second year of elementary school though at the time it was just a hobby he did on the weekends his main interests were swimming in high jump which he did multiple times a week up until around sixth grade as he got older however his interest in baseball continuously grew and it was at this time that people around him began to notice something special about him when shohi reached Junior High School he joined the ichon noi little senior baseball association where his dad would later become his coach and play a pivotal role in his life and career Shi was very disciplined and while other kids were out playing with their friends Otani was already in bed asleep by 9 p.m. as a child shohi easily got caught up on small things one time he got upset over a crease in his notebook insisting that someone had touched it but his father had to remind him not to get upset over minor issues his father also taught him to respect the game of baseball he reminded him to never take his anger and frustration out on his equipment to teach the value of what goes into the sport he taught shohi that outwardly expressing his anger would bring down the morale of the team and only cause harm to everyone else despite all of this however shi's father was very careful about scolding Shi too much even when prominent issues arose in shi's performance he would not lecture shohi in fear of potentially straining his relationship with him due to his overnight shifts at the Automobile Plant it wasn't often where he got to spend dinner time with his whole family something he deeply valued and enjoyed toru often had regrets about his eldest son rud's upbringing due to his night shifts at work when he was home he had to spend a lot of time taking care of the youngest two children and really wasn't able to give a lot of attention to raya's baseball interests if only I'd worked together with with him more I've got to give shohi what I couldn't give to his older brother while Ruda did go on to pursue a career in baseball it is a regret that has been heavy on his father's mind to this very day though he denies it shohan was a very admired kid throughout middle and high school while he never talked to any girls he was quite popular with them at one point receiving five to six love confessions and chocolates upon mentoring Middle School including one from his best friend at the time shi's best friend told an interviewer that shohi enjoyed sitting around excitedly with his friends reading these confessions though he never reciprocated back Shi wasn't just popular with the girls though one of shi's coaches from middle school once exclaimed that shohi once hit a home run straight over the fence clearing the tree line and hitting a traffic light while his coach claimed that Shad caused Great damage to the light due to how hard he hit it Otani says his coach probably was exaggerating a bit Shi was very competitive he always gave his 100% And it did not matter if it was in practice or in a game against a weak team that was set to lose from the start even when playing video games sh maintained his competitive and it would be this mindset in combination with his great respect for the sport that would later lead him to becoming one of the best athletes in the world in 2010 shohi Otani entered hanamaki higashi high school a school greatly known for their Stellar baseball performance it would be under the guidance of Coach saki Hiroshi that shohi Otani would refine his skills as a two-way Superstar shohi Otani eats sleeps and breathes baseball and it was no different in high school Shi knew he wanted to be a professional and he was going to do anything it took to get there Shi would wake up at 6:00 a.m. for roll call and breakfast followed by an hour or two of morning baseball practice he would attend high school for the day until about 4: p.m. and then attend after school practice until around 9:00 or 10 at night he would go home eat dinner go to sleep and repeat that's all he did baseball was his life and he loved every second of it in Japan students are the ones responsible for cleaning the school to develop crucial life skills and a sense of responsibility this applied to the field as well shohi always took initiative when cleaning the he never complained and was often seen taking up tasks no other students wanted to do like cleaning the toilets or shoveling the snow his classmates described him as shy and quiet with his uniform always appearing just slightly too small for his already then very tall 6'2 frame on the field however he was a completely different [Music] [Applause] [Music] Beast [Applause] one of Japan's largest sporting events is the koshian a baseball tournament in which one high school baseball team from every prefecture in the country faces off in one big knockout tournament while it is similar to the world series one loss is enough to knock your team out completely so winning the coosan is quite the achievement in the summer of 2011 Otani team would qualify to participate in his first kosan unfortunately however that year his team would lose to Teo High School the following year his team would dominate in the regional tournament that allowed them to qualify for the 2012 spring koshan it was this game that sh Otani threw a pitch at 99.4 Miles hour the fastest pitch ever thrown by a high schooler in Japan at the age of 18 this pitch not only brought eyes to him from his home country but would make international news and catch the attention of MLB Scouts in America that year shoh declared that he would sign with an MLB team in America straight out of high school and warn Japanese professional teams not to draft I agonized over the decision he said but I've have decided to play in America it's been my dream to play in the major since I started school I want to play over there as early as possible I will learn the hard way I understand the risks it's not about the money it's about following my dreams at the announcement of shi's determination to sign with an MLB team straight out of high school most npb teams backed off except for one they were the Hokkaido neon ham Fighters the Hokkaido neon ham Fighters are a professional Japanese baseball team located in K Hiroshima Hokkaido in the city of saporo playing in the Pacific League of the npb the fighters were known for their interesting approach to Japanese baseball all thanks to American coach Trey Hillman who worked for the team from 2003 to 2007 Hilman greatly influenced the team to defy traditional Japanese practices such as employing front office Centric analytics oriented operating principles and adopting an overall more modern approach to Japanese baseball in 2012 the fighters hired Hideki Kurama and an outfielder with zero coaching or managing experience but would end up being the one to pave the road for otani's future way as a two-way Superstar HEI cama was the first Japanese manager to adopt the ray style opener simply put a reliever starts the game and throws anywhere from 1 to three Innings then allows a new pitcher to throw the next three to five this is to get through the top of an opposing lineup before bringing in a traditional starting pitcher the fighters were also known for taking risks and the risk that they were about to take was their greatest yet drafting Sho otami each round in the npb draft teams will nominate a player if more than one team selects that player a lottery will decide which team the player goes to if the team was unable to sign a player that they drafted the team will not receive a compensation pick in the next year's draft deciding to draft Otani after requesting not to was a very dangerous move but the fighters were all in this actually wasn't really unusual for them to do it was actually common for the fighters to draft players against their wishes and it almost always worked that was until 2011 When Future Ace tomoyuki ended up signing for the yumori Giants a team he had already expressed interest in publicly the fighters were the only team to draft shohi but shohi declined my own feelings are unchanged I am grateful they value me so highly right now I am just going to practice in order to achieve my own goals basically thanks but no thanks after all Shi already had teams such as the Dodgers Yankees and Red Sox all lined up for him ready to sign the fighters were ready for that response and prepared to take on the difficult task of convincing shohi to play in Japan the fighters met with Shi several times but they just couldn't seem to change his mind interpreter Ken eoto noted that shi never expressed his feelings and did not have High Hopes on changing otani's mind he seemed to be set on going to America and felt their meetings were unsuccessful that was until the fighters created a propaganda presentation titled the path to realizing shoh otani's dream the presentation listed all of the successful Japanese MLB players who had started their Journey playing for the npb and detailed a non-glamorous life in America that Otani would have to live trying to slog his way through the minor leagues before even touching the majors they even mentioned the super long 18-hour bus rids he would have to take and the lack of Japanese restaurants in America most importantly the fighters offered Shi the ability to play as npb's first and only professional two-way player something no team in Japan or America was going to allow as well as a 100 million yen signing bonus with a salary of 15 million yen per year additionally sh would be given you darvish's number 11 which would have otherwise been retired and finally the contract allowed show to be posted to the MLB whenever he was ready to do so ironically the fighters did not actually think he could play Two Way professionally but after going all in on him they set out to prove everyone including themselves wrong and it worked in December of that year shohi would agree to the deal and be signed to the neon ham Fighters upon joining the fighters Shad was said to be really thin barely weighing in at 190 lbs at 6'4 in hopes of having him gain a little weight the fighters made him eat ham and he began lifting he would end up bulking an impressive 35 lbs of pure muscle in a very short period of time his weight wasn't the only thing the fighters focused on though they were preparing for show to be really good at one thing and at most decent at the other despite displaying his history of great talent at both pitching and hitting he was still profiled as a pitcher in America and most of Japan and that's what most people knew him as spring training however would be when everyone's doubts about his abilities would diminish completely a freshly 18-year-old shoi was delivering an impressive performance on the mound while simultaneous hitting every ball thrown at him really well while impressive his two-way status would not be without controversy 18-time All-Star E O harimoto A former Korean npb player and record holder for the most hits in Japanese professional baseball would say that sh Otani is being childish his selfish desire to hit is taking out bats from real players angering his teammates and keeping him from becoming the player he could be I'll Grant you sh Otani can hit but he could be the world's best pitcher if he just focused on that it's a mist for him to think that he'll ever succeed at both in the majors baseball Scouts also disagreed with the fighters allowing Shi to be a two-way player saying things like what are the Fighters doing they're ruining this kid's career these controversies wouldn't stop shohi from continuing what he was doing though and his fan base only grew thanks to his unique approach to baseball even in his rookie year Shi would spark huge media attention everywhere he went the fighters were concerned with the amount of media pressure put on shoh at such a young age and they would put temporary restrictions on him such as not being able to go out to dinner or having to always stay in his dorm or hotel even after restrictions were lifted however Shi would continue to maintain that lifestyle choosing to live in the dorms and giving all of his money to his mother to manage who would end up giving him a $1,000 per month allowance of which he would only end up spending about $200 of shi was obsessed with baseball so much so that he would play for two teams at the same time sometimes on the same day some nights he would pitch on a farm team and later hit for the top team at night his two-way stat was not easy to manage the team constantly had to wonder about how to maintain his workload his ability to play after he pitches or his days off there were a lot of questions during his first year of playing stats were not something discussed with shohi and he would end up posting an underwhelming performance during his rookie year but this wasn't a problem people weren't necessarily looking at what he had done that season they looked at what could be done and shohi was going to be the one to do it but could he do it for very long [Applause] 101.9 miles hour sh had just thrown 101.9 miles per hour breaking his original record of 99.4 throwing the fastest pitch in Japanese baseball history he was ready for the majors in 2017 sh requested to be posted to the MLB he was ready and so were the American teams at the time if shohi were to sign with an American team he would be considered an international amateur player and lose out on millions of dollars had he have waited just two more years he would have been considered an international free agent earning a starting contract of nearly $150 million Shi didn't care about the money though he couldn't wait any longer every team wanted Shi No Doubt but Shi was very adamant about wanting to be a two-way player after speaking with all MLB teams he narrowed it down to seven most notably the Mariners Rangers and the Dodgers but none were willing to bring shoh on as a two-way player in fact no one was except one in 2017 shohi announced that he would be signing with the Los Angeles Angels the only team that would allow him to play as both a pitcher and a DH sh's first spring training was incredibly underwhelming he was getting used to American baseball and people were still doubting his two-way abilities who was this Japanese star that everyone was comparing to Babe Ruth was he even really that good did the Angels make a mistake Opening Day 2018 Shi Otani would make his MLB debut swinging at the very first pitch that he saw and earning his first career hit 3 days later he would make his pitching debut earning six strikeouts with 18 swinging strikes 10 on his splitter a consistent 99 mph fast ball and getting his team his very first MLB win his home debut would be equally as impressive he would get his first career home run followed by two more home runs in the next two games and would throw a near perfect game retiring 19 batters consecutively a seven inning 12 strikeout no hitter something that had not been done in 11 years shohi was doing amazing that was until early June where he would get a blister on his right middle finger and would complain of stiffness in his elbow which would later be diagnosed as a grade two spraying of his UCL putting him at risk of Tommy John's surgery he was immediately put on the iil but would still be allowed to hit and he dominated becoming one of the best hitters in the MLB during the last three months of the season a new worry arose in September when it was revealed that he had ligament damage that would result in Tommy John's surgery preventing him from pitching at all during the 2019 season that year shohi would win the American League Rookie of the Year award and become the first player since Babe Ruth in 1919 to get 15 or more home runs with 50 Innings pitched sadly however despite his incredible rookie year it was just not enough to bring the angels to the playoff off Shi did not give up hope though and he certainly did not give up on pitching in 2019 Shi would hit 18 home runs and become the first japanese-born player in MLB history to hit for the cycle where a player hits a single double triple and home run in a single game his 2019 would end early after needing to undergo a knee surgery on his bipartite patella he would end the season with a 286 batting average 343 on base percentage and 505 slugging with 62 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 106 games 2020 was not a great year for Shi due to a combination of the covid-19 pandemic and healing from multiple surgeries Shi would post a 190 batting average 291 on base percentage and 366 slugging percentage with seven home runs 24 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 43 games shohi was incredibly frustrated with himself and people were once again beginning to doubt his ability to play as a 2way player long term until 2021 after really focusing on his health and developing his abilities during the offseason sh would return as a two-way player that would make history Otani would break two Guinness World Records being the first MLB player to achieve over 100 Innings with over 100 strikeouts while simultaneously getting over 100 RBI hits and runs as a batter in a single season and be the first player to start the MLB All-Star game as both a pitcher and a DH he would receive the commissioner's historic Achievement Award the people's honors award in Japan which he actually rejected saying it was too early to receive such an award and was unanimously voted as almv P becoming the 23rd pitcher and first DH to win the award he would be the first pitcher first Japanese player and first Angels player to receed the Edgar Martinez outstanding designated hitter award the Silver Slugger Award named Time Magazine 100's list of most influential people of 2021 Associated Press AP athlete of the Year Sporting News athlete of the Year baseball digest Player of the Year Baseball America Major League Player of the Year Sporting News Player of the Year players choice Player of the Year players choice American League outstanding player Los Angeles player of the year and the team's Nick aenh Hart pitcher of the year in 2022 shohi would continue to dominate continuously making history and proving all the doubters wrong about his abilities he was voted into the All-Star game for the second year in a row but would only end up participating as a hitter as he wanted to prioritize his pitching for the season and not the All-Star Game Shi Otani would also participate in the World Baseball Classic bringing team Japan all the way up to the championship game that would end in one of the most memorable and historical matchups in in baseball history otani's ready Trout's ready 32 he struck him out Otani Strikes Out trout and Japan's back on top of the baseball world he would make the cover of MLB the Show 2022 win a second Edgar Martinez outstanding designated hitter award and be the runner up for the AL MVP trade debates began to circulate when everyone was wondering where he was going to go despite his historical achievements that year and the year prior he was still unable to bring the angels to the playoffs and people knew he wasn't going to be playing with the angels much longer the Angels would ultimately sign him for a one-year $30 million contract and thus began his final year with the Los Angeles Angels during during the beginning of the 2023 season shohi would continue to put up an impressive performance as a two-way sensation he would win Al player of the week for the sixth time in his career earn a spot on the All-Star roster record his second career Grand Slam wi his third Edgar Martinez outstanding designated hitter award second Silver Slugger and his first Al Hank Aaron award among many other Awards sh would also be the first player in history to receive his second unanimously voted Al MVP award on August 23rd Shi would hit his 44th home run of the 2023 season but would be removed shortly after complaining of arm fatigue after suffering an all Nar collateral ligament terar his right elbow and an oblique sprain his season would be cut short and he would have to undergo another elbow surgery preventing him from finishing out the remainder of 2023 as a pitcher and not pitching at all during the 2024 season by the end of the 2023 season sh's contract with the angels would expire and for the first time in his career he was a free agent trade rumors were everywhere and while everyone wanted him not everyone could afford him this trade would be historic easily one of if not the biggest trade talks of the Season was incredibly private about his discussions with various teams and no one had any clue where he was going to end up people were going so far as to track flight logs of his alleged visits between Toronto and LA in reality Shi was sitting on his couch with his dog in December of 2023 shohi would announced that he would be signing a 10year $700 million contract with the LA Dodgers the largest contract in sports history this contract actually sparked a lot of controversy due to how it would be paid out it was deferred so that he would receive $2 million per year for the first 10 years and then receive the rest between 2023 and 20143 most people are upset due to this because of tax reasons but that's not something I'm going to get into simply because I don't understand taxes but what do you think of his contract sh Otani is already putting out an impressive performance during his first spring training as an LA Dodger and it's really nice to see him having fun and being happy speaking of happy shohi just announced his marriage to his beloved partner former professional basketball player mimo Tanaka it would be an understatement to say that everyone is excited for shi's future he will continue to dominate as a two-way star and break historical records he is a great inspiration to everyone and proved that if you work hard you will achieve your goals we likely won't see another player like shoh Otani for another 100 years but we were so incredibly fortunate to be alive during a Time where he is heyya thank you for watching this is my very first time making a video like this so I hope you enjoyed it I plan on turning it into a series so if you have any other players or topics you would like me to cover let me know in the comments

Channel: Akascarlet

Views: 8,548

Keywords: shohei ohtani, shohei, ohtani, baseball, mlb, greatest athlete in the world, shohei highlights, shohei dodgers, shohei angels, ohtani angels, ohtani wife, ohtani pitching, ohtani npb, best athletes, homerun, shohei ohtani history, japanese baseball, npb, nippon ham fighters, dodgers, angeles, la dodgers, la angels, akascarlet, sports, sports highlights, 大谷 翔平

Id: oPQxnXPsu7w

Length: 22min 28sec (1348 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 21 2024