Shohei Ohtani can do it all.
While the two-way player has put the sport of baseball on the international map, he’s doing it all solo — at least in his personal life.
Ohtani remains unmarried, and that could be why he’s so dedicated to his craft and why he’s the best at it.
“It’s his discipline,” San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Cobb told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Shohei dedicates his life to this. It’s like he was born to be the best ever and part of that comes with sacrifices. Like he doesn’t have a family, and I think part of that is because he wants to dedicate everything he’s got to baseball. He doesn’t have anything outside that apart from being Shohei.”
Cobb spent the 2021 season as Ohtani teammate during his time with the Angels.
The dedication he refers to in Ohtani certainly shows.
On Wednesday, against the Giants, Ohtani became the only player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs as a batter and get 10 wins as a pitcher in the same season.
Players with 40 home runs as a batter and 10 wins as a pitcher in a season in MLB history:
Shohei Ohtani (2023). pic.twitter.com/gm1tfgSbwB
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 10, 2023
That’s of course one of the numerous ways he’s made history. In 2022, the league implemented the “Shohei Ohtani Rule” which states a team can list a player as the pitcher and designated hitter on the days he starts, then remove him in one role, but not the other.
He’s used to taking on a huge workload which is exactly what teams love in a player. While it’s no surprise every team could benefit from Ohtani as he heads into the offseason as a free agent, the Giants once showed interest in the three-time All-Star.
It will be an interesting offseason to say the least…
