[13] Ohtani threw a 160km/h (99mph) fastball as an 18-year-old high school pitcher. The St. Louis Cardinals have never hesitated to venture into Korea and Japan to find . In it, Ohtani's 2021 season was ranked No.1, topping great seasons by athletes such as Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, and Lionel Messi. "Ohtani" redirects here. He started Game 5 at the Sapporo Dome and, although his team ultimately lost (31), he wasn't charged with an earned run (he gave up two unearned), and of the 12 outs he recorded in four innings, he got seven via strikeout. He threw seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in the Angels' 80 victory over the Red Sox, while also going 2-for-4 from the plate and a RBI single in the eighth inning to become the second starting pitcher to ever record a hit at Fenway after Roger Clemens in 1996, since the implementation of the designated hitter in 1973. Ohtani was subsequently named to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation All-World Team and was named the 2015 WBSC Baseball Player of the Year. He made the Best Nine as the PL's top hurler. [24][25] The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters decided to draft him in the 2012 NPB Draft nevertheless, despite knowing that there was a high likelihood he would not play for them. [63] Making his third start pitching on April 18 against the Boston Red Sox, Ohtani exited after two innings due to a blister on his right middle finger. [14] He began playing baseball in his second year of elementary school, and as a seventh-grader, Ohtani recorded all but one of 18 outs in a six-inning regional championship game. Fastest to reach 1,500 career strikeouts in MLB history: Yu Darvish, June 21, 2021 (1,216 1/3 innings, 197 games), Fastest to reach 1,000 career strikeouts in MLB history: Yu Darvish, September 8, 2017 (812 innings, 128 games), First Japanese pitcher to be recorded with a, First pitcher to allow 2 or fewer runs in each of his first 7 postseason starts: Masahiro Tanaka. [8] Additionally, Ohtani's 2021 season was recognized for two Guinness World Records titles: (1) the first MLB player to achieve 100+ innings and record 100+ strikeouts as a pitcher, and 100+ RBIs, hits and runs as a batter in a single season and (2) the first player to start the MLB All-Star Game as a pitcher and a designated hitter. [47], He led Nippon Ham to the 2016 Japan Series, but lost the opener to the Hiroshima Carp; he fanned 11 in 6 innings but allowed 3 runs, two on a homer by Brad Eldred and one on a steal of home by Seiya Suzuki. A newcomer to the United States, Tanaka arrived this year with an awesome reputation. [28], While not fluent, Ohtani can speak English and knows Spanish, but prefers to speak to the media through an interpreter, translating his native Japanese to English. [109] Additionally, in the same game, Ohtani became the first pitcher to throw a scoreless top half and record a hit, a RBI, a stolen base and a scored run while playing in an AL ballpark since Luis Tiant did so for the Minnesota Twins on April 26, 1970. [20], Ohtani expressed a desire to move directly to the major leagues after high school and received interest from numerous teams including the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Darvish has the distinction of being the fastest pitcher in MLB history to 500 strikeouts. [11] Ohtani also led the majors with a home-to-first average time of 4.09 seconds, and was the only player in the majors to tally at least six triples and 34 home runs in 2022 (making him the only player to do so in a second consecutive year). [95] Three days later, Ohtani was named AL Player of the Week for the third time in his career after hitting six home runs and picking up a win as starting pitcher. For the season, he was 30 with a 4.23 ERA, 33 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 61+23 innings. [120], On September 26, Ohtani reached the 150-strikeout milestone against the Seattle Mariners and finished the year unbeaten at home, going 60 with a 1.95 ERA in 13 starts. [111] And for the second straight month, Ohtani also earned his second American League Player of the Month Award, becoming the first back-to-back Player of the Month Award winner in either league since Chase Headley in August and September 2012, and the first in the AL since Josh Hamilton in 2012. The South Korean pitcher had a very successful 17-year MLB career. Pitcher Hideo Nomo, with the help of agent Don Nomura, became the second Japanese player to play in MLB in 1995. [170] He earned the save in the championship game and won the tournament's MVP award after batting .435 and pitching to a 1.86 ERA. [81] After his second start of the season against the Houston Astros, Ohtani began to experience discomfort in his right arm, and it was eventually revealed that he had a flexor strain in his right elbow after undergoing an MRI. [178] He posted a walks per nine innings rate of 3.3 across his NPB career. Toggle Awards, records and notable accomplishments subsection, List of Major League Baseball players from Japan, Awards, records and notable accomplishments, This list does not include players that were born in Japan to American parents or players with Japanese ancestry who grew up abroad (such as, Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award, Sporting News MLB Player of the Year Award, Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year Award, Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award, Baseball America Major League Player of the Year, Baseball America Rookie of the Year Award, Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award, "Players by birthplace: Japan Baseball Stats and Info", "Where have you gone, Masanori Murakami? [85][86] Ohtani also embraced data and technology to optimize his training and recovery by visiting Driveline Baseball, a popular player-development destination for underperforming pitchers, where he also tinkered with a changeup. In 56 career postseason games, Matsui had a line of .312/.391/.541. He became the second-fastest Angels rookie to reach 20 home runs, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only MLB players with 10 pitching appearances and 20 homers in a season. Ohtani had decided that he was going to use the money in this manner no matter what his Derby outcome was.[107]. Ohtani narrowed his finalists to seven teams, signing with the Angels for a $2.315 million bonus. Throughout the entire season, Ohtani performed double-duty as a pitcher and outfielder, utilizing his strong throwing arm as well as his impressive batting skills. Bottom of 3rd, 1 out, 3-2 count, 7th pitch off, Still the only no-hitter at Coors Field, which opened in 1995. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the injury. [191], As of April 2022[update], Ohtani endorsement earnings tripled from 2021 to an estimated MLB league-leading $20 million off the field, proving to be a marketing hit on both sides of the Pacific, with a group of 15 partnerships that included renewals among his partners Fanatics, Topps and Panini in the U.S. and Asics, Descente and Hugo Boss in Japan, as well as new deals with FTX, Kowa, Mitsubishi Bank and Salesforce. [108] After pitching a perfect first inning, he also became the first player in major league history to compete in the Home Run Derby and earn a win as the starting pitcher in the All-Star Game. Major League Baseball Players Born in China Since the 19th Century, Major League Baseball has enjoyed a rich, diverse, world-wide set of talent not seen in any other major league sport. Chinese baseball player Zhao Lun poses wearing a cap of the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers. [187] The interpreter steps into any number of sub-duties, including Ohtani's agendapreparation, play, recovery, media availability, breaking down advanced analytics and recovery timetables between Ohtani and the Angels organization. Though his offensive production declined somewhat (five home runs), his performance on the mound was among the best in the league, earning him the starter role in the 2015 All-Star Game and the pitching spot in the end-of-year Pacific League Best Nine awards. He went two innings and fanned two, allowing one run (on a double by Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and a single by Jose Lopez), relieved by Nishi with a 10 deficit. With the count 01, Ohtani threw a fastball that registered 162km/h (101mph) on the stadium radar gun and shattered Ginji's bat in half. Source: Baseball-Reference.com. Simply the best. Walter's father, Leong Achiu, was born in Shanghai, eventually setting in Hawaii . He had 1,268 vote points, to 298 for runner-up Laird. Overall, Ohtani pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out 12. Chan-ho Park: July 1998 NL (Los Angeles Dodgers) Hyun-jin Ryu: May 2019 NL (Los Angeles Dodgers) Source: Baseball-Reference.com. Ohtani declined to pitch, citing a scheduling conflict and his preference to "prioritize the season over the All-Star Game. The power/defense combo is so impressive that if he could play 130 games, he'd be one of the best players in baseball with top-15 overall potential. In Game 1, he pitched one shutout inning in relief, retiring three consecutive batters. Here's the best Asian players in Major League Baseball history. The success of many players from the Land of the Rising Sun -- from Hideo Nomo to Ichiro Suzuki to Shohei Ohtani -- has proved that Japanese players have what it takes to excel in America's Major Leagues. This achievement would be remarkable considering that his first base knock came at the age of 27. Teammate Brandon Laird would win the Series MVP. [154] The following day, Ohtani set another career high with 13 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings to help lift the Angels to a 50 win over the Kansas City Royals, becoming the 19th player in Angels history with 13 strikeouts in a game and the first since Patrick Sandoval on July 24, 2021, against the Minnesota Twins. Still the only no-hitter at Oriole Park, which opened in 1992. In 21 games pitched, he had a career low in ERA at 1.86. First Japanese player to hit a home run in the postseason: Hideki Matsui, October 4, 2003, Yankees vs. Ohtani also became the first player in nearly 100 years to start a game on the mound while also entering the day leading the Majors in home runs. Ranking first in the NL in walks last year, Choos 112 free passes were 34 more than the next highest player. [64] On June 6, Ohtani left the game after a blister on the same finger. After a two-month stalemate the Giants eventually agreed to send Murakami back to the Hawks after the 1965 season. Nov 8, 2022. Also, the left-handed hitter has blasted 110 home runs so far in his career. "[8] Ohtani was offered Japan's national honor, the People's Honour Award, by the Prime Minister of Japan in recognition of his accomplishments, but Ohtani rejected it, saying it was "still too early" for such an award. [190], For his historic campaign in 2021, Ohtani was named to Time 100's list of most influential people of 2021 [130] and awarded the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award by Commissioner Rob Manfred. He was the second player, following Osamu Takechi (also 1950), to start a game at pitcher, bat in the heart of the order (3rd through 5th) and get a hit and a run batted in (RBI) in that game. [40], Ohtani led the league in wins and winning percentage with a 155 record in just 22 starts, and his 2.24 ERA, five complete games, and three shutouts were also best in the league. Hisashi Iwakuma 1 of 10 Elaine Thompson/Associated Press After winning over 100 professional games in Japan, Iwakuma moved to Seattle in 2012. He was the runaway winner of the 2016 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, getting 253 of 254 first-place votes (Naoki Miyanishi got the other one) and one second-place vote. Here's the best Asian players in Major League Baseball history ranked. [163], The Angels announced that Ohtani was once again named as both the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2022 and the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates. Ohtani, alongside other spokespeople, is currently being sued for promoting unregistered securities through a class-action lawsuit. [12] Ohtani's high school baseball coach, Hiroshi Sasaki, said that he was a fast swimmer who "could have made the Olympics. [142] He pitched 4+23 innings against the Houston Astros, allowing one earned run and one walk while striking out 9. [127][128] Ohtani was also awarded the Silver Slugger Award for being the best offensive player at the designated hitter position in the American League,[129] and was named to Time 100's list of most influential people of 2021,[130] which culminated to many end-of-the-season-accolades. All three of these players have had great success on the mound and at the plate, and have helped to break down barriers for Asian players in Major League Baseball. [50], In 2017, he played in 65 games, hitting .332 with eight homers and 31 RBIs while posting a 32 record, a 3.20 ERA, and 29 strikeouts as a pitcher. Ohtani was dominant for the Japanese national team in the 2015 Premier 12. [122] On the hitting side, Ohtani finished with an American League-leading 20 intentional walks, which was the most by an AL player since Mike Trout in 2018. Coming up with a 54 deficit in the 8th, he singled off Shinji Tajima to bring in Shogo Akiyama with the tying run. He finished third in MVP voting again, placing behind Yanagita and Shogo Akiyama for the 2015 Pacific League MVP. [185] Ippei Mizuhara is Ohtani's personal interpreter with the Los Angeles Angels and has known him since Ohtani was 18, starting in 2013 during Ohtani's days with the Fighters. He also won the Best Nine award as a pitcher and won the Pacific League MVP. In 2014, his game has risen to an even higher level. Not all of them have prospered in the MLB pressure cooker. [97] On June 23, he made history yet again as he hit for himself as a pitcher and the second batter in the lineup against the Giants with designated hitter rules in place, making it the first time in MLB history that an American League team chose not to use a DH while a National League team utilized one. [119], The Angels announced on September 25 that Ohtani was named as both the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2021 and the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates. As the number one starter, Ohtani made two pitching appearances for Japan, both against the Republic of Korea, winning Game 1 of the opening round and getting a no-decision in the semifinals. Nomo is one of only five players to have pitched at least one no-hitter game in both the National League and American League in Major League Baseball history. 19 in the world in 2002. [147] His induced 29 swings and misses became the most registered number of swings and misses in a game for 2022. He threw mostly fastballs, even clocked one at 160km/h (99mph), occasional curveballs, and a few forkballs in the mid-140s, including one he threw perfectly in the second inning to strike out Tampa Bay Rays star Ben Zobrist. He did not give up a hit until Keun-woo Jeong singled in the seventh inning and had the most whiffs in a game for the first Premier 12 ever. His early performances captured the attention of baseball and non-baseball fans alike around the world. [96] Two weeks later, he was again named AL Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career after hitting six home runs and recording a 1.543 OPS with eight RBIs in six games to help the Angels go 51. He thus produced three of the PL's five runs in the 55 tie, earning him game MVP honors. [161], On October 5, Ohtani pitched five innings in a loss to the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in one season, reaching the limits of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning pitched per game. Looking at the four major leagues in the US, the NBA, NHL, and NFL pretty much have no Asian representation in them. [2] He had seven outfield assists to one error. [113], Ohtani would cap off the month of August by stealing his 20th base in a game on August 28 against the San Diego Padres, becoming the first Japanese-born player[114] and the first player in Angels history to hit 40 home runs and have 20 stolen bases in the same season. Not just content to walk, Choo has plenty of pop in his bat too. [69], Ohtani ended his first major league season with a batting average of .285, a .361 on-base-percentage, 22 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. For thirty years Murakami was the only Japanese player to appear in an MLB game. Under a 75-pitch limit, he threw four scoreless innings, striking out seven batters and allowing one hit. Three years ago, China's Zhao Lun signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and has been playing in the minor league since then. He also became the sixth starter in AL or NL history to make at least 13 home starts without a losing decision and an ERA below 2.00 in a season. Of the 15 pitches he threw in the first inning, eight were in the 160s; 99s in MPH. Despite turning 39 this year, Kuroda remains a durable big league player. While Ichiro Suzuki is no longer active in MLB, he still holds the record for the most hits by an Asian player in a career, with 3,089. You can watch the game on ESPN or stream on ESPN+ . He led the PL in ERA (.14 over Nishi), tied Wakui for the most wins and was second in strikeouts (19 behind Norimoto, though he threw 34 fewer innings). Silver Slugger Award (2021) 2 Edgar Martnez Award (2021, 2022) AL triples leader (2021) Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award (2021) Hit for the cycle on June 13, 2019 AP Athlete of the Year (2021) NPB Achievements Japan Series champion (2016) 5 NPB All-Star (2013-2017) Pacific League MVP (2016) In 2000 and 2001 he ranked second and third in strikeouts respectively. Primary position: Starting pitcher. He thought New York was a place to kick off his other passion singing. He was named Associated Press AP Athlete of the Year,[131] Sporting News Athlete of the Year,[132] Baseball Digest Player of the Year[133] and Baseball America Major League Player of the Year. Not only is Ichiro the greatest Asian MLB player, he is also one of the greatest baseball players of all time. I'd pretty much never experienced the feeling of wanting to do something but being completely unable to do it. and hit .238/.284/.376 in 204 plate appearances. Unlike imports from Japan, the Texas Rangers outfielder earned his stripes by progressing through the minor leagues. [181] Scouts have timed Ohtani running from the batter's box to first base in as little as 3.8 seconds. Mac Suzuki, Kazuhito Tadano, and Junichi Tazawa are the only Japanese players to have debuted in MLB without previously playing in NPB. Since then a constant wave of Asian players have added their unique flavor to Americas baseball diamonds. Whilst hitters eventually began to solve Nomos deception, he still managed to strike out over 200 batters in each of his first three years. [72], On September 3, 2018, ESPN announced that doctors recommended that Ohtani undergo Tommy John surgery, after an MRI showed new damage to his UCL. 9. He also became just the fourth AL pitcher to throw at least eight innings and hit a homer in a game since the DH was instituted in 1973, joining Jon Garland in June 2006, Kris Benson in June 2006, and Bobby Witt in June 1997. [86] Free of the "Ohtani Rules", Ohtani would be in charge of his own daily diagnostics with Maddon to determine his pitching and hitting schedule. If he continues delivering high-quality pitching theres every chance that he can repeat his years of Japanese big league victories in the United States. Every state in the United States of America, and more than forty-five countries, have had at least one player make it to the show. Asian American Baseball Timeline. We defend MLB's worst-ever trades. [194] On February 9, 2022, Ohtani appeared in the Nintendo Direct to promote MLB The Show 22, as it was the first installment in the franchise to appear on a Nintendo console. 1897 Cleveland Spiders manager Oliver "Patsy" Tebeau attempts . [138], In August 2022, Ohtani became a brand ambassador for Porsche Japan as part of their 'Porsche Driving Athlete' family. He missed time during the year with a right ankle sprain and right cheekbone fracture. [118] His 11 walks drawn in the three game span also tied the MLB record set by Harper in 2016. In the bottom of the 10th, he singled off Daichi Osera score Nishikawa with the winner; Nippon Ham would take the next three games to win their second Japan Series title. With, First Japanese pitcher to record a save in a World Series game, First Japanese player to play in consecutive World Series, First Japanese player to play in a World Series game, MLB.com Setup Man of the Year Award: Hideki Okajima, 2007, Most consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits: Ichiro Suzuki, 10 (20012010), Most seasons with 200 or more hits: Ichiro Suzuki, 10 (20012010), Most games with five or more hits in a season: Ichiro Suzuki, 4 (2004), Most pinch-hit plate appearances in a season: Ichiro Suzuki, 109 (2017), Most pinch-hit at-bats in a season: Ichiro Suzuki, 100 (2017), Only MLB player to hit a home run in his first. Not to mention Ichiro Suzuki who was . Sasaki would assign toilet cleaning chores to Ohtani, to teach the youth pitcher humility. He finished the year at .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs in 382 plate appearances on offense and a 104 record and 1.86 ERA on the mound with 174 strikeouts in 140 innings. He received platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell injections to treat the injury. [168], Ohtani played for the Japan National Baseball Team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. A perfect 24-0 season last season in Japan had expectations raised for his switch to MLB. Only two years older than his fellow countryman, Tanaka, Darvish will surely add abundantly to his tally of 35 wins in the years to come. Starting at DH and hitting 5th in Game 2, he homered off Shoichi Ino in the 5th to start the PL comeback from a 30 deficit. He is the only AL closer still perfect in saves 11-of-11, and his microscopic ERA (0.70) is second among this crop. It was accomplished before the. Ohtani placed third in MVP voting (first among pitchers) and was one of three candidates considered for the 2015 Sawamura Award, given annually to the top pitcher in either league. [172] With an overhand delivery,[173] he throws a four-seam fastball averaging 97 miles per hour (156km/h)[172] topping out at 102.5mph (165km/h),[174] an 8688-mile-per-hour (138142km/h) forkball/split-finger fastball[175][176] with late diving action,[177] an occasional curveball, and a solid slider at 8284 miles per hour (132135km/h). He has one older sister, Yuka, and one older brother, Ryuta, who is also an amateur baseball player in the Japanese Industrial League. Game 2 of MCWS finals is today . He became the first left-handed batter in Angels history to reach 40 home runs, surpassing lefty Reggie Jackson's 1982 record of 39. [195], On July 20, 2021, Ohtani signed an exclusive multiyear memorabilia deal with Fanatics. Playing primarily with the L.A. Dodgers, Parks 124 career victories rank first all time among Asian pitchers. Daisuke Matsuzaka NPB Years Played: 1999-2006, 2015-21 MLB Years Played: 2007-14 Path to MLB: Posting system (2006, Boston Red Sox for $51,111,111.11) Position: Starting pitcher MLB Accolades: World Series champion (2007, Boston Red Sox) Daisuke Matsuzaka was perhaps the most-hyped Japanese player ever to make the jump to MLB. [56] On December 13, it was revealed that Ohtani was diagnosed with a first-degree UCL sprain in his right elbow. [36], On October 5 against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Ohtani recorded the fastest pitch by a Japanese pitcher in an official game, tying Marc Kroon's all-time record for NPB pitchers. Who Are The Greatest MLB Players From Korea? [73] The Angels announced on September 25 that Ohtani had agreed to the procedure, which would keep him off the mound until 2020. [43] Ohtani was the same dominant pitcher on the mound. As a pitcher, he was 114 with a 2.61 ERA in 24 starts and struck out 179 (third in NPB) in 155.1 innings. Mac Suzuki, Kazuhito Tadano, and Junichi Tazawa are the only Japanese players to have debuted in MLB without previously playing in NPB. [9][10] For his efforts, he was awarded the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award. ", "Ohtani makes history again, becoming 1st player to do this", "Father of baseball star Ohtani coached son with life tips in 'very ordinary' upbringing", "Column: Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani could be double threat in big leagues", "Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani could be double threat in big leagues", "Column: The next Shohei Ohtani is already waiting in the wings", "Column: Shohei Ohtani's Ruthian two-way journey began in Japan, accelerated under Joe Maddon", "Yanks intrigued by Japanese teen phenom with 100 mph fastball", "Rangers interested in Japanese righty Ohtani", "Cherington confirms team has met with Ohtani", "Japanese high school fireballer opting for MLB", "Fans taken by Ohtani's set of skills, innocence", "A Japanese propaganda film helped Shohei Ohtani follow a path to making baseball history", "Column: From Shohei Ohtani to Naomi Osaka, Japanese athletes dominate during golden era", "Inside Shohei Ohtani's Superhero Origin Story", "Fighters rookie Otani makes solid impression in mound debut", "Ogawa, Norimoto win Rookie of the Year awards", "Ohtani fireballs lead PL past CL in All-Star Game 2", "Samurai Japan unveils remaining players for MLB series", "Hiroshima's Kenta Maeda wins 2015 Sawamura Award", "Japanese righty Shohei Otani throws 100 mph and plays DH on off-days", "Japanese two-way prodigy Shohei Ohtani is already dominating at the Premier 12 tournament", "Otani makes history with Best Nine selection at both pitcher and DH", "Fellow All-Stars rave about Otani's special talents", "WATCH: Shohei Otani breaks his own record, throws Japan's fastest pitch ever", "Watch: Otani launches mammoth HR in NPB exhibition", "Here are four reasons why Shohei Ohtani was named MLB Pipeline's No. He went on to say that while his 2019 had been disappointing, his 2020 had been "more like pathetic", because he could not pitch or hit the way he wanted to. [153] On June 21, Ohtani hit a pair of three-run homers and set a career-high with eight RBIs, becoming the first player born in Japan to have eight RBI in a game and just the eighth player in Angels history to have eight RBIs in a game. Giants executives were impressed with his talent and on September 1, 1964, Murakami was promoted, thus becoming the first Japanese player to play in MLB, as well as being the first Asian player. At $30 million, the deal set a new record for a player in his third year of arbitration, surpassing the $27 million Mookie Betts received before the 2020 season and also gives Ohtani the biggest salary raise of any arbitration-eligible player; a $24.5 million raise from his 2022 salary of $5.5 million and $3 million of 2021. Ohtani's 25th home run of the season was his 118th career home run, which surpassed Ichiro Suzuki's 117 career home runs to become second place on the all-time Major League home run list for Japanese-born players. While Soto won the round after a second tiebreaker, Ohtani set a record for the most home runs in the Derby of at least 500 feet with six. Using his distinctive pause and leg flicks during delivery, Iwakuma has performed exceptionally over the past three seasons. He hit 100mph while blowing away eventual champion South Korea (10 K, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 R in 6 IP) before Norimoto relieved. Facing South Korea again in the semifinals, he was even sharper (11 K, 0 BB, 1 HB, 1 H in 7 IP). [17], On February 8, Ohtani agreed to a two-year $8.5 million contract with the Angels, avoiding arbitration.[88]. Twins, First Japanese player to hit a home run in the World Series: Hideki Matsui, October 19, 2003, Yankees vs. Marlins, Yankee Stadium, Fastest exit velocity by a left-handed hitter in the Statcast era: Shohei Ohtani, 119.1mph. Walter Achiu (1902 - 1989) Walter "Sneeze" Achiu was perhaps the first great Asian American multisport star. [152] The victory resulted in a six game pitching span from June 9 to July 13, where Ohtani went 60 with a 0.45 ERA (39.2 IP & 2 ER) and 58 strikeouts, (while also hitting eight HR with a .997 OPS), while becoming the fourth pitcher all-time to go 60 with 58+ SO and 2-or-fewer ER in a six-game span, joining Cy Young winners Johan Santana (2004), R.A. Dickey (2012) and Clayton Kershaw (2014). He played in NPB for the Fighters from 2013 through 2017 as a pitcher and an outfielder, and won the 2016 Japan Series with them. Ohtani to pitch 1st", "Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani strikes out nine, hitless at plate in loss to Astros", "What else is new? Ohtani makes more history", "Ohtani flirts with perfecto after making history at plate", "Rangers' Jonah Heim Hits First Grand Slam Against Shohei Ohtani in 105 Win Over Angels", "Shohei Ohtani Shows Off His 'Unbelievable' Talents to Dominate Red Sox at Fenway", "Shohei Ohtani went yard twice on Monday for his 8th career multi-HR game, breaking a tie with Ichiro for the most multi-HR games by a Japanese-born player in MLB history", "Ohtani becomes third Japanese player to join 100-homer club", "Sho-stopper: Ohtani does it all as Halos end skid", "Historic 2-game Sho: 8 RBIs, new-high 13 K's! He drew a career-high four walks on September 22 and three walks on September 23, against the Houston Astros, followed by four more walks on September 24 and two walks on September 25 against the Seattle Mariners. Matsui had a distinguished 10-year stint in MLB primarily with the New York Yankees. [59] On April 1, he made his pitching debut, striking out six batters in six innings while allowing three runs, to pick up his first MLB win.
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