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Shohei Ohtani, or "Shotime," Japan’s guiding light in the realm of baseball, is stamping his authority on the game. Many describe his presence as “historically significant” and that he has had a “major impact on the sport.”
Shohei recently sat down for a one-on-one with award-winning baseball personality and star of the podcast "Flippin' Bats," Ben Verlander, to discuss his meteoric rise to fame.
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"October 18th… Coming soon" - Ben Verlander via Instagram
“This project is special because it’s the result of a great relationship that’s been built over the years between Ben and Shohei culminating in this one-of-a-kind interview,” said Barry Nugent, Vice President, Development and Original Programming, FOX Sports.
“FOX Sports Films is excited to showcase Shohei Ohtani’s incredible story and authentically celebrate the impact he’s making on the game of baseball around the world.”
Ben Verlander, a former third-team All-American, has been working very closely with Shohei over the past year. A fan of Shohei in his own right, Verlander recently went to Japan to shoot for the Fox Sports' show "Searching for Shohei: An Interview Special." It airs on the October 18, along with their one-on-one interview on FoxSports 1.
"When I got over there, I was blown away by the response. The response was unbelievable. There were grown adults coming to see me, some traveling four hours, coming to see me for meet-ups. There were gifts, magazines, posts with my picture on them."
Verlander, like many others, also rates Shohei Ohtani highly as a two-way player. This is something Ohtani never imagined he’d be able to do in his wildest dreams.
"Thank you to Shohei Ohtani and Ippei for the signed Ohtani bat" - Ben Verlander, Instagram
“One thing that surprised me from my sit-down with Shohei was how he actually never thought being a two-way player at the highest level was even an option,” Verlander reveals.
“At 18 years old he thought he was going to be a pitcher – but then the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters came along and pitched him the idea of being a two-way player. Thus, the legend was born.”
Shohei Ohtani's early days in Japan
Shohei started his career playing ball for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League in Japan.
On October 16, 2016, Shohei Ohtani recorded the fastest pitch in NPB history at 165 kilometers per hour (102.5 mph) while playing with the Fighters. The record was broken five years later. That one throw, however, put Ohtani on the baseball map, and he soon started grabbing attention from the MLB.
"The Draft will always be special. Best of luck to all players starting their MLB careers today." - Shohei Ohtani via Instagram
He signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. Since then, he’s won the 2018 American League (AL) Rookie of the Year and the 2021 AL Most Valuable Player. And it looks like he is just getting started!
