Sho-Time

The story behind Shohei Ohtanis legendary MVP season as baseballs greatest two-way playerdominant pitcher and DH with otherworldly power at the platefrom his early days in Japan to his historic 2021 season, the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and more! Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels plays baseball like no other athlete on the planetan electric two-way player awarded the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player, the only player ever named an All-Star Selection as both a two-way dominant pitcher and elite hitter, a member of Time 100s most influential people of 2021, and now the MVP of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In Ohtanis first two-way game of the 2021 season, he threw a pitch at 100 mph and hit a homer that left his bat at 115 mph, a confluence of feats unmatched by anyone else in the sport. He's racked up eye-popping achievements throughout his career, but awards and numbers tell only part of his amazing story. In Sho-Time, award-winning sportswriter Jeff Fletcherwho has covered Ohtani more than any other American journalistcharts Ohtanis path through Japanese baseball to a championship with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, the recruiting war to bring him to the majors, his AL Rookie of the Year campaign, subsequent injury-riddled seasons, the historic 2021 season, his 2023 World Baseball Classic, and beyond. Fletcher weaves in the history of two-way playersincluding Babe Ruth and unsung Negro Leagues players like Bullet Joe Rogan, Martin Dihigo, and Ted Double Duty Radcliffeand the Japanese athletes who preceded Ohtani in the majors. With insight from Japanese and American baseball front office personnel, managers, scouts, athletic trainers, ballplayers, and more, Sho-Time breaks down the physics of Ohtanis game, his technologically advanced training, his international fame, and the role his role leading baseball into a new era.