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This article is about no one else but How Tall Is Shohei Ohtani?, the Japanese hitter, and All-star pitcher. He’s the number one G.O.A.T of major league baseball and the role model for many baseball players. This article will start with his actual height and move on to explain his career as a baseball player. This includes his feats and most especially the challenges that haven’t been able to hold him down. Get popcorn and dive into this article to learn about resilience, focus, and courage in the person of Shohei Ohtani. Let us know “How Tall Is Shohei Ohtani?”
How Tall Is Shohei Ohtani?
As the articles is about “How Tall Is Shohei Ohtani?”, Shohei Ohtani is way taller than the recommended average height for baseball players. He’s standing at a height of 6 feet, 4 inches that’s equivalent to 1.93m, and weighs 203 lbs (92kg). Read on to know all it took for this renowned baseball player to be where he is today.
Where Does He Hail From?
It’s worth knowing that Shohei didn’t have it all set out for him. Similar to any ordinary baseball player. He started from a humble beginning and beat all odds to be the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) of baseball today.
Given birth to on the 5th of July, 1994 by Toru Otani and Kayoko, he’s 28 years old today. This shows age has no limitation to one’s greatness in life. As a young baseball player, you can be anything and achieve anything you want to achieve in life.
Being the youngest child with two siblings, Shohei grew up seeing baseball as the way of life of the family. Toru Otani, his father, was an amateur player in the Japanese industrial league. While he worked at a local automobile plant to provide for his family.
His mum, Kayoko was known for being a national-level badminton player in her high school days. Shohei’s two siblings Yuka, a female, and Ryuta, a male was an amateur baseball player turned coach.
Ohtani’ Education Background
Ohtani is an alumnus of Hanamaki Higashi high school. He discovered baseball was for him during his high school days, his role model being Hideki Matsui, a power-hitting left-handed fielder.
He participated in various tournaments and the under-18 championship. Shohei added to his fast-rising fame 8 walks, a 4.38 run average, 5 hits, 16 strikeouts, and 5 runs.
Shohei Ohtani Career As An Excellent Baseball Player With Nippon-Ham Fighters
Toru took it upon himself to show his son, Shohei everything he knows about baseball right from his childhood days. That’s how he became an avid lover of the game and started playing in his elementary school days.
He started in the second year and left with a record of one of 18 outs in a six-inning regional championship competition. The athlete persevered in playing both outfielder and pitcher.
Shohei Ohtani has brought nothing short of glory to his home country, Japan. In 2012, he was the first pick of the Nippon-Ham Fighters, the Nippon professional baseball pacific league (NPB).
His salary increased to $100 million per year in 2014, and the 2016 season was the best in his career to date. In 2016, he was instrumental in Hiroshima Toyo Carp winning the championship four matches to two.
He played from 2012 through to 2017 as a powerful pitcher and an outfielder at the same time. His major feat, while he played for NPB, was becoming the fastest pitch in the history of the league. He earned this with 165km/hour (102.5 mph).
As such he chose to play in the major league instead of pursuing a formal education at a college. He got several mouthwatering offers from prestigious leagues.
Shohei Ohtani’s Baseball Career In Los Angeles
Shohei Ohtani inked a multi-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels on the 8th of December 2017. He began his career with the 25-man roster on Opening Day.
Ohtani became the first Angels player in history to homer in his first career two home games in a row. He made his MLB debut in early 2018, striking out six batters in six innings. Despite surrendering three runs to earn his first win.
Additionally, he became the undisputed MVP winner, scoring 253 out of 254 first-place franchises In 2017. Ohtani appeared in 65 games and hit 332 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. While pitching 3-2, 3.20 with 29 strikeouts.
He broke into Japan’s 28-man archives in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. So far in the history of MLB, he has become the first two-way player with a record of 10+ pitching appearances. 10+ home runs, 100+strikeouts, and 20+ stolen bases.
Ohtani is the first baseball player ever who became an All-star as a hitter and a pitcher. He appeared in the 2021 All-Star Game as the AL’s manager-selected starting pitcher (winning the game). Plus, the fan-selected starting designated hitter (batting leadoff).
His Challenges
Shohei Ohtani’s challenges include not knowing how to speak English, and having health challenges. Also, he faced racism as a Japanese baseball player.
All his challenges are enough to break anyone down and make them give up. However, Shohei Ohtani continues to forge ahead and he’s still in the game to this moment.
Health Issues
The highlights of his challenges remain the health Issues and they include;
- An ankle injury in the 2016 Japan series. This prevented him from gracing the world baseball classic in 2017. He had to undergo surgery on the right ankle before he could play again.
- After the surgery in 2016, came the following year, shortly after the Los Angeles Angels signed him to the team. He sustained a first-degree UCL sprain in his right elbow that December.
Not long after, while playing, he got a blister on his right middle finger. This made him leave the match against the Boston Red Sox shortly after his second innings. In the end, he got stem-cell and platelet-rich plasma injections for the injuries.
- In October 2018, Shohei Ohtani had to undergo Tommy John surgery due to a first-degree UCL sprain injury on his right elbow.
- Likewise in the following year, 2019 Shohei underwent another surgery to treat the bipartite patella.
- As if all of that isn’t enough, he got a flexor strain on his right elbow. Consequently, he couldn’t participate at the start of the match against the Toronto Blue Jays as a result of another injury.
The Dynamic Japanese Baseball Player’s Achievements
The best adjective to use for Shohei Ohtani is that he’s a professional pitcher, an active outfielder, and a powerful batter. Having watched him take over world titles all these years, Shohei earned the “Shotime” nickname from his fans worldwide. Below is the list of every award tied to his name:
- International Arena:
- 2015 Premier12 (bronze medal).
- NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball):
- Pacific League ERA leader (2015).
- Pacific League Battery Award (2015).
- WBSC Player of the Year (2015).
- Pacific League MVP (2016).
- Japan Series champion (2016).
- 2× Pacific League Pitcher Best Nine (2015–2016).
- Designated Hitter Best Nine (2016).
- 5× NPB All-Star (2013–2017).
- 2x Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize (2016 and 2018).
#3.MLB (Major League Baseball):
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- AL Rookie of the Year (2018).
- All-Star (2021).
In addition to his great name is a net worth of $10 million. This he amassed from being a top-notch baseball player as well as being the brand ambassador of 15 renowned companies.
The companies he’s a brand ambassador for include; Seiko watches in Japan, Mitsubishi Bank, Hugo Boss, Oakley, Asics, Panini, Salesforce, Fanatics, and Topps. He’s unmarried but owns a big house and a swimming pool.
Ohtani’s Charitable Movements
Shohei is the perfect description of “Beautiful inside out”. He isn’t only excellent on the field, but he’s got a heart of gold that’s always willing to give back.
In 2014, when he set the record for the fastest pitch, his jersey was up for auction. It became the top seller, being sold at $17,000. Instead of spending the earnings all by himself, Shohei donated everything to the Tohoku earthquake children’s relief fund.
What’s more? The top-level baseball player was among the people that voiced support for the health workers in his homeland during the pandemic. At the charity for Yahoo, Ohtani donated his bat. Additionally, he showed his support for the Japan mask project to the point of raising funds for the Japan heart.
Conclusion
Now we have learnt “How Tall Is Shohei Ohtani?”, Here’s all there is to Shohei Ohtani, starting from his height. Despite having above the average recommended height for baseball. Shohei showed from this article that it takes more than height to make it to the top in baseball.
Frequently Asked Questions
#1. What is Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run score?
Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run score is 137m (450 feet)
#2. What is the name of Shohei’s baseball bat?
Shohei started his career in Japan with the Japanese Ash bat. He switched to the Birch bat this year, 2022, however, he amassed the majority of his feat with the Maple bat.
#3. What is the fastest pitch Ohtani has ever thrown?
The Japanese baseball player’s fastest pitch is a 101.4 mph fastball.
#4. Where can I see more of Shohei Ohtani baseball playing?
Shohei just signed a one-year $30 million contract with Los Angeles for the next season in 2023.
