Born to Play Baseball: The Rise of Shohei Ohtani…

[@DaWARRoom]

Which player next⁉️🤔

[@heverpacheco2515]

Mike Trout or Aaron Judge would be awesome

[@barbaryn7899]

Bryce Harper. If I remember correctly his father was tossing him beans when he was a baby so he could work on his hand eye coordination

[@asher1kenobi]

The Contreras brothers. I don’t know anything about them and I haven’t seen any videos about baseball brothers.

[@Dolfman]

Do Mookie Betts!

[@gardenpop]

Giannis

[@dankool688]

I’m not even a baseball fan but this man is making baseball exciting.

[@brandoandthenewromantics5842]

Me too im not a fan of baseball but now im interested in watching Ohtani .

[@lajeezy2207]

Facts I’m mad I’m just now Finding out

[@wisnubasktrucci]

Same here ☝🏼😅

[@tcggggg]

Facts

[@jimiamfirshur4778]

I love sports and baseball is the best, if it's not basketball season.

[@barbaryn7899]

6'4 big arms and broad shoulders and a beautiful left handed swing. Sometimes life is unfair

[@nuntan]

With a matinee-idol good looks to boot. Oh, and a millionaire who will soon become a billionaire. Life maybe unfair but I'm happy that I get to witness this one of a kind super star play in real time⚾🌟🦄

[@rjfischer571]

And bat lefty but pitch righty. Damn.

[@heraldomedrano1417]

100% Natural?

[@Jayhawkfinance]

hate comments like this. I’m sure from a physical standpoint there’s plenty of dudes out there of his size don’t mean anything unless your driven to excel in your field though 🤷‍♂️

[@paolee2730]

For real

[@Iverson8811]

Shotime is truly the one of a kind player. Not even Babe Ruth was able to do both in the same season during dead ball era. great video you made.

[@KeepItReal213]

Ruth was never dominant at both when he did both. Ohtani is a Cy Young candidate and an elite hitter.

[@manciti4709]

watching ohtani...always takes me back to little league baseball...when i was able to pitch & hit in the same game...ohtani is still playing little league...in a grown-up uniform...for the love of the game

[@Mjdemass]

I'm french so I know nothing about baseball. But I was recently in Japan and on every news channel, when the sport segment started, it was ALWAYS him the first topic. Made me look into his highlights when I went back home. Looks like he's a homerun machine.

[@sweetcrumbs2704]

So glad to be in the same generation with Shohei, watched him reached his peak and witness amazing baseball. Thank you Shohei!

[@eyesight8716]

He gets better every year...2023...now he is the phenom...his swing and pitching style is so amazing that you can't believe it is happening. omg...Ohtani only gets better...like a genius at baseball..im just glad I am alive to watch him do this...

[@nuntan]

I hope the Angels and Joe Maddon will be remembered as the team and the manager who helped Shohei establish himself in MLB. It would've been easy for the Angels and Joe to try to convince Shohei to stick with his hitting after his first 3 seasons in MLB in which he underperformed as a pitcher, albeit injuries and a TJ surgery. I remember many people doubted - some even outright gave up on - Shohei's future as a pitcher then. Thank god the Angels and Joe remained patient and kept their faith in Shohei. I highly doubt the outcome would've been the same if Shohei had signed with other teams, especially high-profile big market teams such as the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers, etc. whose fans can be relentlessly brutal in criticizing players who do not meet their expectations.

[@mirikaku5811]

The Angels could afford to stay patient at the time becuase Ohtani was making peanuts of a salary and they were not risking much as Ohtani was bringing in more money in Merch sales, International broadcasting rights, baseball tourism and on and off field commercial incomes. The guy is so marketable! Angels made much more money than the paid him.

[@hooksNuprcuts]

My cubs would have ruined him.

[@bcnicholas123]

Can’t believe we’re witnessing a top 10 all-time player become a legend in real time

[@taze27]

To us baseball is a game. But to Shohei Ohtani, baseball is life. ⚾️ 🏟

[@lunarumbreon7699]

The 2021 season is incredible and insanely unlikely. There’s one manager in the world that would look at Shohei missing almost 2 full seasons pitching wise with injury and still decide to give him the full work load of a starting pitcher and a full time DH. Thank god that Joe Maddon was the Angels manager because no one else would have tested that. Ohtani is likely the most hyped athlete ever and somehow he’s beaten every expectation

[@cheerios4canaries]

This was a super insightful video of his career, what a legend he is. He swings and hits with such grace and finesse it’s so smooth 😊

[@marshalbaek5580]

I didn't realize how many years he fought to become the great player he is today. I didn't go back and try to add it up, but it sounded like 5 years of medium grade play due to injury and new surroundings etc...to finally having the season he believed he could have in 2021. The best move he made was signing up in Japan first. This gave him the lifelong financial stability to weather the years of development and all but remove any doubt that he had already achieved greatness no matter what happened next. It must have removed a TON of pressure knowing that he could pack up at any time and be set for the rest of his life. BONUS: hearing this guy is genuinely nice makes this the kind of story the WORLD needs right now....and forever.

[@eldereno28]

wow very nice video great job ... I love ShoTime cant wait for WBC

[@diamonddetails9445]

The Man. The Myth. The Legend...applies ONLY to OHTANI. Unreal😮😊

[@donm1612]

Kudos to the Ham-Fighters for making an accommodating and convincing case to Ohtani.

[@JoyceYu-xp4ye]

I am a dodger fan because Othani, see him it is exciting and this man it is born to play baseball. Thank you Othani

[@mirikaku5811]

Well done story of Ohtani. You say he became the first player to attend ASG as a pitcher and a Hitter. But in 2022, he did the same AND became the first Player in MLB history to qualify BOTH in ERA (as a SP) and as a hitter! Which just minority of MLB players qualify each season (2022: 5,7% as pitcher and 18,8% as a batter) Aaron Judge may had a historic season, how efficient would his offensive numbers be if he was SP even ONCE…? (Probably not be able to hit for few days…if Judge hit every week, the offensive numbers would be out of the window…thats how unique Shohei is…not comparable

[@nestorgarcia9228]

BINGO...By the way, this channel is run by a Yankee homer...just a few months ago he was badmouthing Ohtani's MVP campaign in order to push Judge. I unsubscribed from this clout chaser months ago

[@mirikaku5811]

@@nestorgarcia9228 haha…many are like that…even Jon Heyman of NY Post, he called Ohtani a “freak show who plays meaningless baseball” and now he weekly speculating Ohtanis FA payout and calls Ohtani “The world greatest player” 😂 It’s a bit embarrassing…

[@Il_Exile_lI]

While he did pitch and hit in the 2022 all star game, he was only voted in for his hitting. In 2023, he was voted in on both the hitter and pitcher ballot, so he was selected twice. That was what the video meant.

[@mirikaku5811]

@@Il_Exile_lI there has not yet been any ASG votes for 2023…

[@Il_Exile_lI]

@@mirikaku5811 I meant 2021 and 2022.

[@kenosabi]

Guy got me to love and watch baseball again. For that - I'm forever greatful. No matter where he goes - that clubhouse will end up being a fan favorite. Because people will follow this dude wherever he goes. Once in a generation player.

[@jghuntr]

Maybe Once in FOREVER player. I'm 71. I played Little League for 3 years and watched Mantle and Maris and all the rest for over 60 years. I've been to many big league games and even saw the 'Iron Man", California Ripken. He was NY all time favorite until now. I saw the Kid, Griffy Jr win the Home Run Derby in Colorado. I hope I get to see Showtime in person. He's great beyond belief AND a good human too!

[@jghuntr]

Spell check really messed up my comments. "Cal" Ripkin, not California! My not NY...😮😊

[@Gemnist98]

I hope with the advent of Ohtani, we start seeing more two-way players.

[@nathaniellukas8007]

Really awesome video!!

[@manu2375]

This is great! I can tell you did a lot of research to make this video, especially things relating to NPB. Excellent work!

[@Duxydogs]

Gotta say that this is some quality work…great job indeed

[@blackjesus6910]

Great video!!

[@timmymcmanus3380]

The last two seasons of shohei have been amazing image if he gets a cy young this year

[@justinllamas1]

absolutely enjoyed this video and shohei ohtani is truly a unicorn. I predict he will receive a 500M contract in the offseason. he will be the first next year, and soto will be the second to receive that 500M in 2024/25. I would like u to do curt flood (the guy who helped create free agency and made it possible for guys like judge, machado and trea turner to make north of 300M and possibly ohtani and soto making 500M). and of course I’d like a video on juan soto, my fav player.

[@SonnySonny38]

Shohei is just like an mc in sports anime/manga

[@Treachize]

He's literally Shigeno Goro from the Major anime. The dude's a legend

[@armourofcontempt]

The Algos gave me this video after Otani was featured in a Seiko Watch ad that used Ichika Nito's music. I'm a guitar prodigy fan, and now I'm watching your baseball mini-documentary because of it. Much love.

[@BugsWitta]

This is gonna be good

[@noahmcdaniel4920]

The injuries were always pretty overblown. The knee surgery at the end of 2019 was to repair a birth defect. And it's not really fair to say he hurt his arm again in 2020. He was basically making rehab starts at the big league level for his TJ, and had to get shut down for a bit. Happens a lot, but the season was too short for there to be any point at ramping him back up again.

[@leogonzalez9384]

Ohtani is a unicorn

[@worldpeac3]

i love him so much😭😭😭

[@alm5851]

Bro great vid! This was an awesome watch!

[@bizzz.R]

Remember hearing he chose the Angels because "He didn't want to be in the spotlight". Broke my heart. Lets go Dodgers!

[@SenorTortas]

5:15 if NPB players get paid $15 million USD annually as rookies, you'd see way more American amateurs head overseas, maybe even professionals. Think you might mean yen, since I believe Masahiro Tanaka is currently Japan's highest paid baseball player at a little over $8 million USD, or 900 million yen+

[@matthewlee4697]

This video aged well....he signed with the dodgers for a 10 year/ half a billion dollars!($700M)

[@ShaShaSha534]

This is such a great video

[@tetragrammaton01]

Here after first 50/50

[@janethilton3126]

Thanks for a lot of good information I didn't know about I really enjoyed learning

[@tyrenalex4192]

This guy just surpassed The one and only Legend-Babe Ruth ..Ruth would’ve in awe of Othani’s gameplay..

[@DH-ij9pe]

And he has not disappointed in 2023. He is a god amongst men.

[@ChadNewman-h5e]

Love the Guy! We are blessed

[@Russianfeels529]

Great video. Larry Walker next 👌

[@janiekcarney5482]

I enjoyed this. Just happen to this feed. You did a nice job.

[@bradhardy3163]

Great work man!

[@SW-fi5sk]

翔平くんの軌跡を取り上げてくれてありがとう。 数字や実績はもちろんですが、どこにいても変わらず日本人の持つ美徳を体現してくれていることも嬉しいことです。彼は日本で言うところの「野球小僧」であり続け、努力を怠らず、大変頭の良い方であることは言うまでもありませんよね。 そして当時の日本ハムファイターズの監督と首脳陣の尽力のおかげで私たちはいま翔平くんの今を見ることができています。 他の選手にも大変興味があります。是非たくさんの方にスポットライトを当ててください。 I know and understand what u said in the video, but very hard for me to express my feeling clearly in English.

[@AchakBrooks]

ほんまかいな？オオタニ選手のこと話すたび、逆のことばっか聞こえてきたわ😂笑、MLBでガツンとやり出したら、「日本人の心とか」また騒ぎだしたで。 それにな、HTB（やっぱりHTBやったかな）の番組見てて、彼のプレーのこととかエンジェルスのコーチングでガラッと変わった打撃スタイルの話とか、彼の順応力がどれだけすごいかが分かったわ。今じゃめっちゃいい仕事してるってのが、ほんまに見てて楽しいね。 こんな若いプロが夢を叶える姿を見るのは最高やな。

[@藍筆幸]

He made me watch baseball for my first time

[@aaronbrooks1232]

My create-a-player character in MLB The Show isnt as good as this guy is, and definitely nowhere near as fun to watch. To do what this guy is doing, it's unreal. Hes changing the game. So amazing to watch how he makes it look so easy and effortless.

[@CUMBICA1970]

6:00 A little correction. Isao Harimoto is a 2nd generation Korean-Japanese born in Hiroshima.

[@johnadames8187]

You need to review Babe Ruth's record: He was also the best pitcher and best hitter in MLB baseball before he stopped pitching. As a pitcher he won two games for the Boston Red Sox (the first one a shoutout) to help them win the 1918 world series. His pitching record for that year was also amazing: Ruth, 23, had put together another nice season, going 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA in 20 games on the mound. He also showed off his potent bat during the 1918 season. If Ruth had continued pitching it's pretty obvious that he would have at the very least been as good as Ohtani.

[@DanLukehart]

That was great I now know that player that I've been hearing about you should do a story on Taylor and green quarterback at BSU Boise State from Texas

[@reimaaki5737]

WE❤LOVE❤️YOU #SHOHEi #MVP #CyYoung #WSchampion🏆🏅。

[@michaelleluther6568]

Make me watch till the end,only Shohei can do that 😭

[@MontageMadness]

Happy birthday ohtani

[@eggjones6039]

20,000 wow, that’s either cant be right or insane knowing how good you have to be to make it

[@shinjibing8364]

Does swinging lefty help obtani as he isn’t using his right arm for both pitching and hitting? Or does it not matter? If it does matter, it makes sense how he is able to be so damn good at both without wearing himself out during a game.

[@brianchar-bow3273]

The 2-way player is highly consuming for the player. It is detrimental to the player, as it works toward shortening his longevity as a player. However, from the team's perspective, if a 2-way player can function as well as Otani, they can strengthen their pitching and hitting core with only one reinforcement at the same time. Also, if a player is sluggish in either pitching or hitting, he can still be used as a player in the other role, and the short time period of players due to attrition will also promote player turnover. In these two ways, a 2-way player is a managerially efficient and risk-averse reinforcement. However, this is conditional on the emergence of a large number of candidates for talent on the same level as Otani. This may be possible in the Japanese school baseball educational environment, but I wonder if it would be possible in the United States. Why was Shohei able to succeed as a 2-way player, something he had not been able to do for 100 years? He is neither a mystery nor an alien. He is a reality that happened on this planet. This is because Shohei Ohtani is not a player who grew up with an American baseball education. It is the Japanese student baseball educational environment that made him emerge. It is the result of the difference in education that Shohei Ohtani received as a child and as a student in Japan. Ohtani is undeniably a great athlete, but if he had been born and raised in the United States with the same DNA, he would not have grown up to be the Ohtani of today. The "Otani of today" is the result of being born and raised in Japan and receiving a Japanese baseball education from an early age. He is blessed with natural qualities and DNA, but it was his own willpower to analyze weakpoint of himself, set his direction, and practice self-improvement that made him as the great player he is today. In other words, even his current well-endowed body is the result of his own training, his own diet, and his own body modification plan which he has spent the past 12 years from 16 building into a large body and his mental strength. Shohei Ohtani is not an amazing genius, but a man of amazing hard work and self-improvement. He is simply a man who has amazing self-analysis and the brains to discover and complete his own weaknesses and ways to improve them.

[@youngking0704]

Sho time is making me a fan of baseball and I don't even know most of the terminolgoy yet... seems like the MJ of basketball or Deion of football

[@TrueCrimeBreakdowns]

Great video! Make one on Tony Gwynn next 🤞

[@fhsd1998]

I disagree with the "we won't see a player like him ever again". With how rigorous Japan's training in baseball from an early age, NPB will slowly allow some really talented high school players a chance to prove they can do what Ohtani does before stepping up to the Majors.

[@eisenrz5540]

It's the 2023 Season and ... it's looking great.

[@sleeptime5464]

Thanks for the video.. Another good Ohtani baseball video is by Baseball Doesn't Exist

[@exia0616]

Tbh i feel even if shohei is offered $500M contract, he may turn it down and take a lesser amount so that the team he joins can make a better roster with the paycut. Remember he took like a huge paycut just to play in the MLB earlier, if he waited until his contract with his NPBL team was over he could have asked for a $200M contract instead he asked to be posted early thus making his contract just above 3M.

[@big8dog887]

That little tidbit about the NPB draft caught my attention. Sounds like it could be the solution to the tanking problems that American sports leagues have.

[@glennmorris25]

What was Judge’s ERA? I saw 5 other players do what Judge did in my lifetime. You can sprinkle steroids on a Bonds or a Sosa and get those numbers. You can’t sprinkle steroids on Bumgardner or Mike Hampton or Maddux and get Ohtani’s output. What Ohtani did is objectively more special than what judge did. They got it wrong.

[@beam1beam]

this guy is basically Shigeno Goro

[@d3.production]

I LOOOOOOVE watching Videos at 320p

[@gboy2312]

Harimoto not gonna be too happy ohtani the goat

[@chitgoansiau4678]

He played in the NPB in 2017

[@skippythesupercat]

LEGEND E G E N D

[@ahosrepublic]

Shigeno Goro in real life

[@brianadams6204]

You should do a video on another great play the one and only Ken Griffey Jr. (The Kid) I put him up there with Shohei both special players. IMHO

[@Landis_Grant]

I never thought there would be better Japanese star better than Ichiro Suzuki but Othani makes him look like an amateur by comparison.

[@areneesmith6307]

Please cover Julio

[@jfrom214]

Soon to be richest baseball player ever in history, no one will ever match his level of hitting and pitching, and even if a kid does do what he does they still wont match what hes doing right now,

[@vh448]

Modern day Babe Ruth

[@cristianhernandez3619]

Do Randy next !!!

[@clubeyxander5132]

Isao Harimoto was not born in Korea. He's a second generation Korean-Japanese born and raised in Japan. He is the all time hit king of NPB, although Ichiro would easily surpass his number if his records were combined. BTW, Harimoto is known to be a hardcore conservative and has always heavily criticized pioneering people. In his logic, everything has to be done old school because that was the way he had achieved so much greatness. When Hideo Nomo went over to the Dodgers, Harimoto was one of the first and foremost people to criticize him for being selfish. According to Harimoto, Nomo was selfish for not abiding by the NPB rules to transfer to MLB when, at the time, there was no such rule whatsoever. He basically calls every NPB player who chooses to go to the ML a traitor and selfish. When Ohtani stated he wanted to go straight to America without joining the NPB first, a 72 year old Harimoto openly criticized a teenager on national TV for being "childish". Of course this man would also criticize Shohei for trying to become a two way player. The criticism continued even until Shohei made his move to Anaheim and it was Shohei 's first MVP season that Harimoto finally decided to shut up. Just to give you some perspective, that's the kind of person Harimoto is.

[@scooterblack5355]

Nolan Ryan arm with a Bo Jackson strength

[@dontknowdocare]

Great video, but I'm sure you mean 15 million yen, right? 5:20 A $15 million salary would be unheard of.

[@jorge503213]

This guy is gohan !

[@jghuntr]

He's the Babe reincarnated & better than before!!!

[@brianchar-bow3273]

Japanese YAKYU was derived uniquely from American-style baseball and took more than 100 years to achieve. The fact is that on this same planet, there is another baseball that exists in a different spirit than the US style. Of course, the roots of baseball are USA, but baseball that was exported to other countries from US and took root there developed in a different way. This would be a fact. The reason “why Japanese baseball is strong in international tournaments" is not because they have strong members and excellent coaches. It is because they are “not players who grew up learning baseball in the United States". They were “educated in Japan's unique system of baseball education” when they were in high school. Americans don’t realize the importance of "the unique baseball education system" of Japanese baseball. which is the result of “the difference in education” they have received since their childhood and school days. The difference in the educational environment during their school days and the difference in the content of baseball education are the secrets of the source of the strength of Japanese baseball. Ohtani is undeniably a great athlete, but if he had been born and raised in the United States, with the same DNA would not have grown into the Ohtani of today. He was born and raised in Japan and received a Japanese baseball education from childhood, which is why he is the player "he is today". Not only the physical aspect, but also the way he thinks about baseball, his stoicism, and his gentle behavior are the result of his baseball education from his childhood to high school in Japan. and it is Japan's unique baseball education that produced"the monster" Otani. He is "not a unicorn," but merely an honor student of Japanese high school baseball education.

[@therealbs2000]

"Greatest" doesnt seem to mean much these days...lets wait until ohtani dominates wbc this year and takes mvp there before we start going down this path

[@JarenRadela]

Sheesh, well I think he proved himself lol

[@TheEloim_]

Yeeeep

[@therealbs2000]

@@TheEloim_ his wbc performance was legendary

[@TheEloim_]

@@therealbs2000 I literally went into a baseball rabbit whole last night. I stay in a country that doesn't play baseball at all . Not a single baseball ground in the whole continent probably . But ohtani makes me want to understand the game just so I can understand just how ridiculously good he is

[@therealbs2000]

@@TheEloim_ its a great sport, once you understand it you will love the theatricality of it

[@tylermort2925]

Shohei to the Padres by the end of the year.

[@gardenpop]

I think you could do a good vid in thos style on Giannis

[@antonioduverge3558]

MLB has to put effort in making him as famous a Jordan as Pele, those are the things that attracts fans, give a shit if is Japanese and can’t speak English he doesn’t use his tongue to play.

[@dltguitar6532]

they won't because he isn't black or latino. Asians are not loved by the media system

[@astra8308]

The only players close to Ohtani are hall of famers. Trout, Bonds, Ruth, Rogan, Harper

[@GreifNation]

Obviously the best hitter in the MLB, Judge

[@ethanfranklin1458]

Personally as a cardinals fan I dodnt much care for mad bum since he was so dominant vs them in the the early 2010s. I never liked his attitude and after his last start im happy to say that the cardinals officially got him cut from the league.

[@UnproductivelyFun]

Shoei initially chose the padres because he loved the city and the padres GM A.J Preller Has Close ties with the Japanese league. The final choice for the angles was because at the Time the NL did not have a designated hitter

[@Gemnist98]

Hmm… HMMMMMM…….. fingers crossed.

[@phuckfumassters]

Lies !!!!

[@halyup]

@@Gemnist98 he initially choose the dodgers

[@Ice.burrrg]

Imagine Ohtani playing in the 1800s

[@pokeman6543]

Look at this year's ERA already 😅

[@Galactic123]

How many more seasons of this kind of greatness would Shohei have to put up in order to be a first-ballot hall of famer? We literally haven't seen anything like this since Ruth, and Ruth could only play against white guys with full time jobs who played baseball as a hobby. Can you tell the story of baseball without including Ohtani? I say if he does this for 4 more seasons (probably winning 3-4 more MVPs unless someone hits 70 homers) he's a LOCK for the Hall.

[@TheScotchaholic]

He's already a lock for the HOF, even if he played his final season in 2023, since no one has accomplished his numbers in the history of baseball in 2021 and 2022 as a dedicated two-way player, on top of being a MVP in 2021. His extremely unique and rare talents and records, easily places him in the HOF.

[@dltguitar6532]

why does it matter if they were whites lol?

[@Galactic123]

@@dltguitar6532 it matters because there were great players in the Negro leagues that Babe didn't get to play against. Ohtani is playing vs the entire world of talent and Babe only got to play vs a limited pool of white guys.

[@johndavemarano6741]

he's the real life Goro Shigeno

[@divinedelaware7541]

Think he gonna get $500,000,000 15 years in the contract. 😮😮 ridiculous😬, but he earned it🤷🏿‍♂️

[@onevato]

LETS GO DODGERS!!!

[@billbee2088]

He’s going off… might need Tommy john again… angels horrible .. season over they still got him playing .. he’s still leaving for the Mets

[@mariosantilli7202]

Do phelps