Shohei Otani, Japanese baseball player
Shohei Ohtani (大谷 翔平, Ōtani Shōhei, born July 5, 1994), nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League.
Ohtani was the first pick of the Fighters in the 2012 draft. He played in NPB for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder. Ohtani recorded the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher and in NPB history at 165 kilometres per hour (102.5 mph). The Fighters posted Ohtani to MLB after the 2017 season, and he signed with the Angels. He won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award. On January 31, 2022, it was announced that Ohtani will be on the cover of MLB the Show 22.
In 2021, Ohtani's season was formally recognized as "historically significant" and a "major impact on the sport" by Commissioner Rob Manfred, as he became the first two-way player in the history of Major League Baseball with 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season while also holding at least a share of the major league lead in home runs in fourteen starts, as well as being the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter in the 2021 All-Star Game, where he was a starter in both capacities, as the American League's manager-selected starting pitcher (who earned the win) and fan-elected starting designated hitter (who was also the leadoff hitter).