*This content was translated by AI.
Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers), who is in his ninth year in the U.S. this year, is drawing attention with his superior English skills.
Ohtani attended an awards dinner hosted by the New York chapter of the National Baseball Journalists Association (BBWAA) in New York, USA on the 25th (Korea time).
Ohtani was named the MVP of the 2025 season in November last year. He won the honor of being unanimously MVP by winning the first place vote of 30 BBWAA reporters. Ohtani was the first to be unanimously named MVP three times.
At the dinner, Ohtani took the podium when he was called the National League MVP. And Ohtani received a strong round of applause, expressing his feelings in fluent English without going through an interpreter. The time was about two and a half minutes.
Ohtani, who dressed up in a black suit, said, "Thank you for hosting a wonderful event. We always feel welcome," he said, adding, "MVP is an award that means a lot to me. It was also a great honor to receive this award," he said in fluent English. Ohtani then expressed his gratitude, referring to the Dodgers' high-ranking, front office, coaches, and colleagues.
Above all, Ohtani delivered a warm message to his family. "To my beloved wife Mamiko," he said, "Thank you for enriching my life to my family living in Japan, and above all to my beloved wife Mamiko, daughter, and pet dog Decopin."
Forbes, a U.S. business magazine, said in response to Ohtani's English speech, "Ohtani showed other amazing talents. It was very rare for him to speak English," he reported.
In addition, the Japanese media Full Count said, "The prince's dignity of contributing to the second consecutive World Series victory was seen. Miguel Rojas, his Dodgers teammate, posted a video of Ohtani's speech on his personal social networking service (SNS) and wrote down the word "G.O.A.T." three times. Not only his skills at the ballpark, but also his sincere attitude in public, and Otani's efforts to overcome the language barrier shook the hearts of his colleagues," he said.
Meanwhile, Ohtani was only committed to hitting the next year, 2024, due to elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) he underwent in 2023. And he wrote a new history of 50 home runs and 50 steals for the first time in the major leagues in the 2024 season. In 159 games, he played a batting average of 0.310 (197 hits in 636 at-bats), 54 home runs, 38 doubles, seven triples, 134 runs with 130 RBIs, 162 strikeouts with 81 walks, a on-base percentage of 0.390 (4 failures), a slugging percentage of 0.646 and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.066. He ranked second in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS in the National League.
In the 2025 season, he played in 158 games with a batting average of 0.282, 55 home runs, 102 RBIs, 20 steals, and 1.014 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He hit the mark of 50 home runs and 100 RBIs for two consecutive seasons. In addition, he proudly ranked No. 1 in the National League scoring category, No. 1 in the OPS, and No. 2 in the home run category. In June last year, he returned to pitching and hitting again. As a pitcher, he took the mound in 14 games in the 2025 season, marking a 1-1 record with a 2.87 ERA. Ohtani plans to work as both a pitcher and a batter again in the 2026 season.
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*This content was translated by AI.
