The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) played a big role in helping Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels, photo) rise to the title of “baseball icon.” The final match, in which he struck out two outs in the ninth inning of the final against fellow Angels teammate Mike Trout (32), the leading hitter of the U.S. national team, remains a famous scene that is still talked about. The record Ohtani left in the WBC was a batting average of 0.435 (10 hits in 23 at-bats) as a hitter, 1 home run, 8 RBIs, and 9 runs, and as a pitcher, 2 wins, 1 save, and an ERA of 1.86. Of course, Ohtani was the MVP of the tournament.
Ohtani, who has conquered the WBC, now starts the regular season of the 2023 season, which will determine the ransom for the next 10 years. Ohtani will start on the 31st (Korean time) in the opening match against the Oakland Athletics of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) held at the Ring Central Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA. Selected for the opening match for the second year in a row following last year. It seems that he will also be on the center batting line as a hitter.
MLB.com, the official MLB homepage, released experts’ predictions for major awards such as the season’s MVP and the Cy Young Award a day before the opening of the season. Ohtani was selected as a strong candidate for MVP as well as the Cy Young Award for the best pitcher in each league. 메이저사이트
Ohtani will qualify as a free agent (FA) after the 2023 season. Analysts say that if Ohtani does not sign an extended contract with the Angels during the season and comes to the free agent market, he will be able to exceed $50 million in annual average annual salary and $600 million in annual salary for the first time ever. Some say that Ohtani is an ace as a pitcher and a center hitter as a hitter, and even an annual average of 50 million dollars is cheap. Big market teams with abundant funds, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and New York Mets, are already moving up and down as Ohtani’s destinations. There is also an analysis that some teams quietly spent the last Stove League targeting Ohtani.
Will Ohtani be able to write a new era by continuing the outstanding performance of two years of pitching in this season? Ohtani’s ‘manga baseball’ may not have even begun.