Much like Lebron James in the NBA, Sidney Crosby in the NHL, and Mike Trout in the MLB, the rise to fame is an arduous and continuous task hindered by criticism and hate throughout the entirety of one’s career. Shohei Ohtani, the newest pitcher for the Anaheim Angels, is yet another one of these players in which all the hype and anticipation is speaking for itself. Both on and off the field.

Coming from the “Land of the rising sun” also known as Japan, Ohtani has already become one of the most if not the most famed and envied players in all of baseball. The new star pitcher and hitter was one of the most talked about recruits of the summer of 2017, and now has entered the league hitting three home runs in his first three games and has struck out eighteen batters in his first two starts, according to a blog from PSA. Recording eleven RBI’s and three home runs through eight games, Ohtani is doing things in which no hitter since David Ortiz or Derek Jeter has done. His eleven RBI’s and three homers since the start of the season is continuing to push the Angels to have the ability to widen the gap between them and other teams in the A.L. West.

The twenty-three-year-old pitcher out of Japan is continuing to break records and assert himself into the top names in baseball. From putting the Angles to the top of the A.L. West division with a record of 13-4, Ohtani, according to PSA is now the top baseball card in which is selling on the markets today. Above Aaron Judge from the Yankees, and Mookie Betts from the Red Sox, Ohtani has now become perhaps the fifth best pitcher/ hitter combo in the league and a deadly hitter at the plate.

The 6’4 right-handed pitcher is a crazy thing to watch, Luca Licata (11), a varsity baseball player for YLHS, stated “his form and accuracy is something that I have never seen before,” and the “way in which he can change the pitch count so easily is something like of Clayton Kershaw.” Also, Jacob Del Crognale (11) believes that “his fastball and curve can ultimately strike out the side very easily with the variety of pitches in which he can throw.”

Not only is Ohtani a very intriguing and never before seen player to watch, but his humble and avid demeanor bring the positivity in the locker room in which ultimately translates onto the field and onto the mound. For him, It is just another day on the mound, but for us here in Anaheim and around the world of baseball, he is an icon in which people can not get enough of.