Mandatory Credit: Abbie Parr-USA TODAY Sports
Shohei Ohtani Named MLB the Show 22 Cover Athlete
Sony San Diego Studios, or SDS, announced Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels as their cover athlete for MLB the Show 22.
Notably, Ohtani is the first pitcher to ever appear on the cover of The Show franchise. Ohtani’s domination as a two-way player this past season culminated in him being unanimously voted as the AL MVP.
For a team starved for pitching, Ohtani was their ace. In 130.1 innings across 23 games, Ohtani recorded a 3.18 ERA with 156 strikeouts. This was enough for Ohtani to be the starting pitcher for the AL All-Star team.
In the All-Star game, Ohtani also started at DH and batted leadoff. After hitting 46 home runs and driving in 100 runs with a .257/.372/.592 slashline, Ohtani had truly changed the game. His video game-like numbers left fans of The Show clamoring for him to be the featured cover athlete and presented an easy choice for SDS.
With the lockout still ongoing, the league itself has been unable to market Ohtani’s achievements throughout the winter. As a result of his success, the MLB got as much international attention as they’ve had in a long time.
While many fans are left waiting for baseball to return, they can find solace in the fact that SDS does a tremendous job every year marketing their cover athlete. Over the past few years, they’ve effectively utilized Fernando Tatís Jr, Javier Báez, and Bryce Harper to generate anticipation for the release of their game.
Set for an April 5th release, it is a sure bet that SDS will be plastering the face of Ohtani anywhere they can. While MLB may drag their feet, fans are at least guaranteed a way of re-living the magical season Ohtani produced with every promotional post The Show franchise puts out.
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