Angels News: Shohei Ohtani’s Childhood Teammate on How Special He Was Growing Up
Shohei Ohtani was impressing his peers at a very young age. Although he wasn't born a two-way superstar, the skills he possessed from a young age seemed to stand out among his friends, teammates and opponents. FOX's Ben Verlander went to Ohtani's hometown in Japan, and caught up Daiki Obara, a childhood friend and teammate of Ohtani. He spoke about Ohtani's incredible talent when they were growing up.
"I first met Shohei in my fourth year of elementary school," Obara said. "We met on the field in Little League. The impression that I got at the time was that he was like some kind of monster. I got the feeling that we were no longer classmates. He played baseball on a whole other level. When I first saw him play in elementary, he hit a line drive down center field for a home run. The very first time I saw him swing the bat, he hit a home run. I knew he was different. I would say he’s like the god of baseball."
That's some extremely high praise coming from Ohtani's former teammate in Little League. But also, it helps us understand how Ohtani became so great.
Obara also spoke about the tradition in their hometown of Japan that the whole team would come out and clean the field themselves during the game. He said it not only gives them a sense of the field they're playing on, but also builds their character through baseball. He said that Ohtani always took charge during the cleaning, even helping with some other tasks off the field.
"He took initiative and to clear the area around the pitcher mound," Obara said. "He not only helped maintain the field, but also cleaned the toilets and went out of his way to do jobs others detested. It, of course, mainly focused on baseball skills. But there was a focus on character. It put a lot of effort into building character through baseball."
Stories like these help shine a light on just how special Ohtani was from a young age, and how he was able to develop into the best two-way superstar the game of baseball has ever seen.
