SteemSports Presenter: Scott Frank, @scottybuckets
SteemSports General Manager: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, STEEM Witness & PeerPlays Witness.
Shohei Ohtani throws 102.5 miles per hour and hits home runs at a higher rate than Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Is this the next Babe Ruth?
Ohtani is 22 years old and plays for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. He is the most gifted athlete in decades that the game of baseball has seen. At 6’4 and 225 lbs of lean muscle, he has every team in the United States chopping at the bit to sign him. He pitches once a week and is the best hitter in the league the rest of the week.
He was drafted in Japan at the age of 18. He has been a stud pitcher and hitter for years and refuses to only play one position. And he can't be blamed. Last year, he won the MVP and World Series of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, which is considered just below the MLB with tons of talent. All star pitcher, Yu Darvich of the Texas Rangers is one of many talented players in the MLB from the league.
But this is different from the usual recruitment of a foreign player. The big market teams like the New York Yankees, LA Dodgers, and Texas Rangers won't simply be able to “buy” Ohtani. The MLB has a rule that any foreign player under the age of 25 can only command a $6 Million dollar bonus. The bidding war won't happen and this will be much more of an all out recruitment campaign of having other Japanese players, endorsement opportunities and a manager that makes him feel comfortable.
Japan's “Babe Ruth” is currently earning $2 Million dollars a year. In fact, he even lives in a modest dorm with his teammates. As far as night life goes, just like MLB World Series Champion, Kris Bryant, he doesn't drink alcohol or go out at night.
Shohei Ohtani will be up for grabs to come to the United States soon. If you haven't followed this story yet, I encourage you do. Could he be the best baseball player of all time in 15 years? Time will tell and I can't wait to find out! Have you heard of him and how would you handle a pitcher with flame throwing speed and a batter that has the potential to lead the league in home runs? I look forward to your comments! Cheers!
Ruth was a legend!! I can't wait to start watching more of Shohei Ohtani
Of course he came over and went straight to a small market team like the Angels. Will be interesting to see what he does there this next year. Certainly believe he could have gotten more money with a different franchise but I can see why he chose to go where he did. Having a dual threat athlete could change the face of the Angels and help them to make progress towards a real playoff run.
Incredible talent. Would be interesting to see how that translates to the MLB.
He does seem to be quite the talent!
If he really has what it takes to lead the league in home runs that would be crazy. He is on the road to being the next Baseball star. Very talented
It will be really interesting to see where he ends up. I am a Cubs fan and that would be amazing to get him, but literally every team is fighting for him.
Yea, its crazy how EVERYONE is fighting to get him.
Wow, Thats alot of talent. A pitcher with that type of swing is sure to start a frenzy for him in the USA. Looking forward to it.
The marketing pitches by the teams will be fun to follow. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Living in South Africa I was not brought up with baseball. However I always liked the idea and have watched a few games. Thanks for the update I think I must ad it to my bucket list to visit America one day so I may watch a game.
Holy shit! Whoever lands this guy is going to have quite a gem. I expect a huge payday for this guy sometime late in his career. I haven't been this excited about a Japanese player coming to America since Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Nice talent
I hope he ends up on the Yankees. We could use him
Send him to the white Sox!
I don't get excited about Asian prospects until they come to the show.
live in japan seen him play live, his potential is amazing, in the 90s japanese baseball was a play for americans to make money, MLB thought it was easy business, but starting right after NOMO, and so on things started to look a little different , look at ICHIRO for a example, there are amazing treasures
hidden in japanese baseball, and about OHTANI, great pitch and great at bat,
the way he pitched , I of course want him to be the next babe ruth but he ended being a legend at bat, I would love to see OHTANI play in the major league but I hope he concentrates on being a pitcher, chasing both would be fun for the fans and media but for him to be a legend of major league he should concentrate on pitching!!! lets see where he goes next season!!! can't wait!!!!!!!
About damn time... :)