It has been so long for the Major League Baseball (MLB) to encounter someone with extraordinary skills like Shohei Ohtani of Japan in nearly a hundred years, which he is now become a superstar. Porsche recently met with Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles, his adpoted home and discuss about his career journey.
The story highlights Ohtani’s popularity and the excitement surrounding his potential team change after leaving the Los Angeles Angels in late 2023. The number 17 on his jerseys holds sentimental value and represents his celebrity status. Ashley Kelly, the wife of Ohtani’s potential future teammate Joe, went straight to work publishing videos in which she showcases jerseys and merchandise of all sizes sporting the number 17 under the hashtag #Ohtake17. The message: her husband, the current owner of the popular jersey number, would surrender it to Ohtani if he’d only join the Dodgers.
The campaign met with success as Ohtani signed the contract, took over number 17, and thanked Ashley Kelly with an extraordinary gesture: he gave her a Porsche Taycan. On December 24, 2023, Ashley Kelly posted a video of herself receiving the unexpected Christmas present, with unbridled joy written all over her face.
“Whenever I think about cars, Porsche always come to mind,” says the now 30-year-old with a friendly smile a few months later. We got together with him on a baseball field in Los Angeles near Dodger Stadium, where he had the opportunity to see the new Taycan Turbo S for the first time ever. “The car is really comfortable to drive, really quiet, and demonstrates its performance on every road,” says Ohtani after his initial assessment. “Porsche sports cars are so much more than just a means of transportation. They offer experiences and are so much fun to drive. I think that’s a good fit for me.”
In Los Angeles, Ohtani has become a top athlete in six years, breaking records and gaining cult status. He is a unique two-way player, excelling as both a hitter and pitcher. As a hitter, he aims to score points for his team by hitting the ball far with a baseball bat. As a pitcher, he focuses on stopping opposing batters with fastballs and curveballs, reaching speeds over 150 km/h and hitting balls over 150 meters. Ohtani’s versatility in playing two key positions is akin to a soccer player excelling as a forward and goalkeeper in the same game, showcasing his exceptional talent and skill.
Ohtani is a rare two-way player in MLB, a role not seen since Babe Ruth in the early 1900s. Ruth was known for his impressive stats as both a hitter and a pitcher, achieving 714 home runs, winning seven World Series titles, and making the All-Star team twelve times. Shohei Ohtani had some pretty big shoes to fill when he entered the world’s most popular baseball league.
Ohtani was raised in the city of Ōshū in northern Japan’s Iwate Prefecture and wanted to be a professional baseball player from an early age. “I saw the players on TV and dreamed of being just like them,” recalls the superstar. “Then I’d eagerly wait for the weekend to come, so I could play myself.” While the world’s best baseball stars play in the United States, Japan is home to the second-best league. Local star players tend to get started here, before moving on to MLB.
Ohtani comes from an athletic family. His mother played badminton, and his father was a semiprofessional baseball player who ended up passing his passion on to his son. It was important to Ohtani senior, who worked at a factory, that his son remain humble and focus on working hard rather than seeking the spotlight. Nevertheless, the young Ohtani had some lofty goals. “I was motivated by my dream,” he explains. “Everything else came second.” He was interested in launching his professional career in the US when he was 18, with multiple Major League teams eager to sign him in 2012. But when the Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters promised him something that would be just about impossible in the US, Ohtani changed his mind. If he signed, the deal would allow him to reach his full potential – as a two-way player – which was unheard of in the Japanese League, and not just for rookies. The experiment was a complete success. Ohtani was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) and won the championship with the Fighters in 2016, the team’s third national title, after 1962 and 2006. Then – after five seasons – he decided to make the switch to MLB.
When he had turned 23, Ohtani was highly sought after and able to choose his new employer. Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Angels, where he wanted to establish himself as a two-way player in MLB.
Ohtani also took a short amount of time to jell with the rest of the team, who found him to be friendly, humble, and humorous. While his debut got off to a rocky start, but the Angels’ trust was unwavering as they allowed him some time to get accustomed to a different game. The baseball they use in Japan is smaller and has different qualities. The hitters in the US tend to be taller and have a more powerful swing. As a hitter, Ohtani was suddenly up against pitchers whose balls came harder, faster, and with more precision. But he improved from one game to the next, demonstrated his skills, and, at the end of the season, was named “Rookie of the Year.” And then the shooting star suffered an injury that sidelined him for two years. Despite being labeled a one-hit wonder by skeptics, he himself never lost hope. “There were plenty of skeptics in Japan,” says Ohtani. “But I learned to deal with the pressure.”
Ohtani made a triumphant return to the game after recovering from injury, showcasing his talents as a two-way player and earning the MVP title in the US. He became the first Japanese player to win the award unanimously and repeated this feat in 2023, making history as the first player to do so more than once. In the same year, he led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic, defeating the US in a thrilling final where he struck out his Angels teammate and US Captain Mike Trout to secure the win. Japan claimed its third world championship title, with Ohtani declaring it the best moment of his life.
The bidding process restarted when Ohtani revealed plans to change teams in late 2023. Ohtani’s value extends beyond his on-field performance, as he attracts sponsorship from Japanese companies targeting fans watching in his home country. Thousands of fans wearing his number 17 jersey flocked to the games. Some of them don’t know anything about baseball, but still a fan of Ohtani all the same. According to industry estimates, the sponsorship contracts and ticket sales brought in additional revenue of around 20 million US dollars for the Angels annually.
The Los Angeles Dodgers recognized Ohtani’s potential and offered him a record-breaking ten-year, $700 million contract. With the help of publicist Ashley Kelly, Ohtani has been a star player for the Dodgers since April 2024, excelling in both hitting, pitching and winning for the team. This move has solidified Ohtani’s position as a major player in MLB history.
*The original article was published by Porsche and the text first published in the Porsche magazine Christophorus 412, which are out now!