Tracking Shohei Ohtani’s Remarkable Path from High School Star to 50/50 Club Founder

According to The Ringer, Ohtani attracted the attention of MLB scouts in 2012 when he set a Japanese high school record by throwing a 99.4-mph pitch for Hanamaki Higashi High School. Ohtani originally wanted to sign with an MLB organization out of high school but instead started his career with Japan’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013.

Ohtani’s high school baseball coach Hiroshi Sasaki instructed his players to swim as part of their workouts, according to a 2021 Los Angeles Times column. Sasaki said Ohtani was particularly fast in the pool. “The swimming coach here said he could have made the Olympics,” Sasaki said, according to the column.

Ohtani’s parents were impressive athletes in their own right. His father, Toru Ohtani, played semi-professional baseball, and his mother, Kayoko Ohtani, is an accomplished badminton player, according to the Associated Press.

With 46 home runs in 2021 and 34 home runs in 2022, Ohtani became the first Japanese MLB player to hit 30 or more home runs in consecutive seasons. His 225 career home runs rank first for Japanese-born players; he leapfrogged longtime New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui in 2024.

Ohtani became the first player to be selected to the MLB All-Star Game as a pitcher and position player in 2021. He threw a scoreless inning in the game on July 13 at Colorado’s Coors Field and went hitless in two at-bats.

Ohtani also competed in the Home Run Derby that year, hitting 28 of them.

Ohtani and legendary slugger Babe Ruth are the only two players in the history of the majors to hit at least 10 home runs and win 10 games as a pitcher in the same season. Ruth accomplished the feat 104 years prior to Ohtani in 1918, according to ESPN.

Ohtani was second in MVP voting in 2022 but wasn’t even the most or second most expensive player on his former team. Ohtani’s contract with the Angels was worth $30 million in 2023, according to Baseball Reference. That put him behind teammates Anthony Rendon ($38.6 million) and Mike Trout ($37.1 million).

After six seasons with the Angels, Ohtani became a free agent in November 2023 and signed an eye-popping $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers a month later. It’s the most lucrative contract in MLB history and among the largest in sports history, too.

MLB players usually have a signature song that plays when they walk toward the batter’s box or the pitcher’s mound. Ohtani had several with the Angels, including “Twinbow” by Slushii and Marshmello, “Do Or Die” by Afrojack and Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the theme from Game of Thrones. For his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani fittingly chose “The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco.

Ohtani’s favorite players are fellow countrymen Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres (pictured) and the aforementioned Hideki Matsui. Darvish, a pitcher with 110 career MLB wins, and Ohtani were teammates on the Japanese squad that claimed victory at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Ohtani cites his sleeping habits as an important part of his on-field success. According to Kyodo News, Ohtani will often sleep 10 or more hours in a single day and frequently works naps into his baseball routine. He even has custom pillows stuffed with extra material in order to maintain their height.

Among his many feats perhaps none is more impressive than Ohtani’s status as the founding member of the 50/50 club, having hit 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in a single season. He forever etched his name in the history books after stealing two bases and pounding three homers during a September 19, 2024, game against the Miami Marlins.

In October, the ball that marked his 50^th home run sold for more than $4.3 million at auction. To date, he has 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases this year.