Shohei Ohtani: Beyond the Dream

Shohei Ohtani, he has done it, wow.

Shohei, the unicorn, does it again.

This guy's from another planet.

With the paint on the four-seamer at 98.

Dive. On turn! Right field, a bullet! And go!

He's the modern-day Babe Ruth.

Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise

Playing in the street gonna be a big man someday

You got mud on your face, you big disgrace

Kicking your can all over the place, singin'

We will, we will rock you

We will, we will rock you

We will, we will rock you

Ohtani, a laser and it's gone.

Ohtani got it. He got it.

Oh, out call.

First ball swinging, and first pitch crushing.

Got him!

Seven incredible innings on the mound

and he just smashes a baseball a mile.

Shotime.

Shohei Ohtani is the only player

in modern MLB history

with over 10 pitching wins, 40 homers,

and 15 stolen bases in the same season.

As the sole All-Star to be selected as a designated hitter and pitcher,

his strikeout and home run count

surpassed records set by Babe Ruth decades ago.

This is the story of the most unique player

in baseball history.

Born in 1994,

Shohei Ohtani grew up in a small town in Iwate, Japan.

No one expected a legend in the making to come from such a rural area.

I grew up in the countryside of Japan with only a few baseball teams around,

where most of the teams had never been to big tournaments.

I was sure plenty of other players outshined me in talent.

This is where his journey began.

Sure, I wanted to become a great baseball player,

but had no conviction it would come true.

As a kid, Shohei watched Major League Baseball

and dreamed of playing there one day.

We had a computer at our house.

I definitely looked pitchers, but also searched for sequence shots

and videos of various players.

You started being able to look up these things online.

That process had a significant influence on me.

Unemotional Ichiro Suzuki.

And a ground ball back at the middle,

and there it is, he's the new All-time Hit King

in Major League history number 258.

My, oh, my.

Tonight, it was Hideki Matsui who delivered.

Randy Johnson has thrown a perfect game.

Pedro Martínez is on the mound.

Barry Bonds has hit more home runs

than anyone who has ever played the game.

That may be in the upper deck.

A mammoth home run by Ken Griffey Jr.

Even as a kid it was obvious.

The players in the MLB were on a different level.

Watching them on TV and other medias,

Ichiro-san, Matsui-san, before them were Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez…

Barry Bonds, the list goes on, Ken Griffey Jr.

Even as a child, it was clear to me that MLB was the place for top-tier baseball.

I've always been the type to take on challenges.

I was inevitably drawn to see how far I could make it in the MLB.

Around the horn of the bases from third to first, Matsui steps up.

Getting to start on the left field tonight at 259 average with 9 home runs.

41 runs…

I studied his batting form and this…

I bet everyone's done it.

I had a bat at home that I would swing whenever I wanted to.

I was just freewheeling back then.

I'm very flattered.

Knowing that Shohei, who has come so far and has a huge presence in the MLB,

looked up to me when he was in little league is meaningful to me.

I'm very happy to hear that.

I doubt he wants this.

Thank you.

This is awesome.

I'm not really the kind of person who likes to ask for favors.

- I will treasure this. - Pedro started to laugh,

because, he said, "Well, you're right, I wasn't feeling well.

In 2009,

Shohei watched Matsui and I face off in the World Series.

…to the left-handed hitting DH.

Pedro Martínez is one of my favorite pitchers.

Particularly, the earlier days of his career

were what I really enjoyed watching.

Seeing players like him and the handful of Japanese players who made it in the MLB,

facing off on the big stage of the World Series was a special moment for me.

Especially since I was a fan of both players.

Pedro's pitch to Matsui.

And a flyball in the right, down the line.

Gone. Two-nothing, New York.

Yes, I saw it. A home run into the right field.

Pedro Martínez might not be a big-bodied athlete, but despite that,

he efficiently imparts power to the ball.

Not to mention his repertoire.

Compared to him, I'm on the larger side of pitchers.

My size actually makes it difficult for me to pitch like him.

I knew I needed to practice a lot more to do what he was doing.

If a pitcher with a large build like mine can execute such moves,

I believe that player would perform very well.

Five strikeouts already. Michael Busch, the batter.

Swing and a miss. Michael Busch gets blown away with 100.

Lowest opening average in March and April since 1920s.

So over 100 years. Minimum 770 innings.

And Shohei Ohtani is at the top of the list.

Look at the names on there, like Pedro Martínez and Bob Feller.

- One, two. Eddie? - Yes, he wins. Yeah.

Yes, he did.

Shohei Ohtani is on the mound tonight

and could be the right guy on the mound, certainly for the halos tonight.

There's the fastball getting a check swing and a miss for strike three.

Shohei tying Babe Ruth on the all-time strikeout list

as far as the pitcher and hitter.

Babe Ruth both at 501, two-way stars The Babe and Shohei.

Think Shohei is going to beat it.

Peña swings and misses. Nasty sweeper from Shohei.

Second strikeout for Ohtani.

Passes Babe Ruth now,

two-way stars on the all-time strikeout list.

Really, nothing like it in the history of Major League Baseball.

I'm thankful for him being a great example for me.

Starting pitcher. Announcers. Fans.

You got to love what you saw here tonight.

Goes for the high fastball.

Strikeout number 17 for Pedro Martínez.

Throughout the long history of baseball, there have been many pitchers.

But delivering a smooth pitch like his,

there aren't many pitchers who can match that.

Of course I'm probably biased.

I'm really, really proud to see where he comes from

and how he actually had that dream from so far out.

I grew up just like Shohei. Just like that, open fields.

I was also very free to move around.

I'd like to be outside, exposed to nature and free spirit.

But I also had the dream of becoming a baseball player.

You know who really deserve a lot of credit?

I think it's his parents, for educating this kid.

I mean, make him so committed to what he wanted.

My parents took me to baseball practices every week.

They let me pursue what I wanted. I also took swimming lessons at that time.

Mm.

That was the role my parents fulfilled…

How should I say this?

They are wonderful parents, but not my mentors.

I really respect my parents for who they are,

but hearing the exact same words

from a teacher I really respect at school hits differently than

hearing them from my parents.

There's a difference to how those words convey meaning to me.

I love my parents and am thankful for their support.

I would never have been able to do any of this without them.

But when it comes to the question of the most influential person in my life,

that's a different story.

Back when we were negotiating to bring him to the Fighters,

his mom was always there for us.

There was a sense of generosity about his parents.

They care for him a lot and love him dearly,

yet they always let him decide for himself.

His dad taught him the basics of baseball, like playing catch and running hard.

Teaching him those important things had a huge impact on him.

The 3-2.

Ohtani hits it hard and a diving stab.

From his D's, the throw, not in time.

Ohtani, big, strong and he's too fast.

As a freshman in high school,

Shohei mapped out his goals on a "dream board".

His dream was to be drafted first by eight pro teams,

which he planned to achieve

by perfecting eight factors of his game,

each with eight smaller goals.

This included physicality, mentality,

luck, control,

and humanity amongst others.

It's quite impressive.

I'm more impressed about this,

about how he had it in his mind before then

than what he's doing.

Because it's hard to draw your dream and go and achieve it.

I-I wish, I wish I could have.

But I never thought about it.

I… I had so many uncertainties

when it came to baseball and it wasn't easy.

And I know it's not easy for him, but this is quite impressive

to draw your dream…

in a piece of paper and especially at such a young age.

It's-- It's probably more impressive than the things he's doing in baseball.

Wow. This should be in the Hall of Fame already.

This should be in the Hall of Fame.

This is embarrassing.

Honestly… that was…

That was supposed to be something between just me and myself.

I wasn't ready for that to be exposed.

I had hoped to keep that locked in a place where no one could find it.

Oh…

2010? He would have been in high school.

First of all, to be "drafted first by 8 teams"…