Shohei Ohtani is unquestionably one of the best players in Major League Baseball. In every appearance he makes, Ohtani seemingly sets a new record or creates an entirely new category. The two-way Japanese superstar has not only changed the way baseball is played in real life, but also in the MLB The Show universe.
“Shohei Ohtani has 17 brand endorsements in 2022, breaking Aaron Judge’s record of 13 endorsements in 2021. “Ohtani was the first player in a six-month span to appear on the covers of: GQ, Time, Sports Illustrated, MLB The Show per @sponsorunited” – Sportico
As the 2022 cover-image player, video game players were finally able to use Ohtani as a two-way player in the game. For the first time, MLB The Show set his default player position as a starting pitcher and outfielder. It was a long-awaited decision that fans clamored over when it finally came to fruition.
The production team had to rewrite the code at the core of the game in order to achieve this milestone. Finally, fans were able to play as Ohtani in the same way he dominates the MLB.
“Finally in @MLBTheShow 2022, you will be able to use Shohei Ohtani the exact same way the Angels use him.” — @Ramone_Russell tells @BenVerlander how much code they had to re-write in order to feature Shohei as a pitcher AND a fielder in MLB The Show:” – Flippin’ Bats Podcast
After a tremendous 2022 season, it would be surprising if Shohei Ohtani is not the latest member of the “99 overall club”. MLB The Show ’22 had only three players in the “99 overall club”, which were Mike Trout, Jacob deGrom, and Ronald Acuna Jr.
Last season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani dominated on both sides of the ball. As a pitcher, he produced a 2.33 ERA through 166.0 innings, posting a 15-9 record with 219 strikeouts. His 219 whiffs ranked him sixth in the entire MLB last season, ahead of both Cy Young winners Sandy Alcantara and Justin Verlander.
As a batter, Ohtani hit 34 home runs and 95 RBIs, while recording 11 stolen bases. Throughout his 157 games, the two-way unicorn maintained a .273 batting average.
Shohei Ohtani’s career in Japan before the MLB
Ohtani is already one of the best Japanese baseball players in history. After being selected by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters with the first overall pick, he went on to win the 2016 Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award, receiving 253 of 254 first-place votes.
From 2013-2017, Ohtani was a two-way superstar for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. In that time, he posted a 42-15 record with a 2.52 ERA and 624 strikeouts as a pitcher, while also batting .286 with 45 home runs and 166 RBIs.
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