Sho-time

The story behind Shohei Ohtani’s legendary MVP season asbaseball’s greatest two-way player—dominant pitcher and DH with otherworldlypower at the plate—from 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 likeno other athlete on the planet—an electric two-way player awarded the 2021American League Most Valuable Player, the only player ever named an All-StarSelection as both a two-way dominant pitcher and elite hitter, a member of Time100’s most influential people of 2021, and now the MVP of the 2023 WorldBaseball Classic. In Ohtani’s first two-way game of the 2021 season, he threw apitch at 100 mph and hit a homer that left his bat at 115 mph, a confluence offeats unmatched by anyone else in the sport. He's racked up eye-poppingachievements throughout his career, but awards and numbers tell only part ofhis amazing story.

In Sho-Time, award-winning sportswriter JeffFletcher—who has covered Ohtani more than any other American journalist—chartsOhtani’s path through Japanese baseball to a championship with the Nippon-HamFighters, the recruiting war to bring him to the majors, his AL Rookie of theYear campaign, subsequent injury-riddled seasons, the historic 2021 season, his2023 World Baseball Classic, and beyond. Fletcher weaves in the history oftwo-way players—including Babe Ruth and unsung Negro Leagues players like“Bullet” Joe Rogan, Martin Dihigo, and Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe—and theJapanese athletes who preceded Ohtani in the majors. With insight from Japaneseand American baseball front office personnel, managers, scouts, athletictrainers, ballplayers, and more, Sho-Time breaks down the physics ofOhtani’s game, his technologically advanced training, his international fame,and the role his role leading baseball into a new era.