Shohei Ohtani. The name may not mean anything to you, but the baseball player signed the largest contract in the history of the sport. The Japanese will receive 700 million dollars (650 million euros) for ten years from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
O unicorn, as the 29-year-old player is known, is leaving the Los Angeles Angels and signing for their rival from California, where he will be paid 70 million dollars (65 million euros) per season… until 2033! After months of silence on social media and the mystery surrounding an elbow operation, the ‘Japanese Babe Ruth’ himself announced on Instagram the new colors he will wear for the next ten years.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Shohei Ohtani |大谷翔平 (@shoheiohtani)
The contract’s value exceeds that of Mike Trout’s deal with the Angels in 2019 ($426.5 million) and Julio Rodriguez’s deal with the Mariners (could reach $469.3 million).
But who is Shohei Ohtani? Born on July 5, 1994, the son of a badminton player and an auto factory worker and amateur baseball player, he is the youngest of three brothers and used to clean bathrooms when he wasn’t studying or playing baseball in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Colleagues say he is cheerful and easy-going, but also obsessed with baseball and complex in his approach to the game. He made his debut in the MLB (Major League Baseball) in 2018 and after a poor start, he was rookie of the year and became the league’s MVP in three consecutive years. In 2022, he even managed to beat Aaron Judge’s record by hitting 62 home runs. He can throw a ball at a speed of 100 miles per hour.
Source: DN
