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Inside Shohei Ohtani’s baseball journey

"The Journey of Shohei Ohtani" in stylized Japanese kanji and English, with three images of him playing
(Kenichi Minami (NOY DESIGN) / For The Times)
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A look at Shohei Ohtani’s prolific baseball career, starting with his meteoric rise in Japan, his two-way stardom with the Angels and his eventual signing with the Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani is no Muhammad Ali when it comes to talking about himself, but his standout play and his legions of fans have made him a social media star.

Shohei Ohtani’s stardom has made an immediate impact among Dodgers players and staff, who marvel at the level of attention the team is receiving.

The Lakers knew Shaquille O’Neal was a star of a different magnitude, and they treated him as such. The Dodgers must do the same with Shohei Ohtani.

We commissioned six artists for our Shohei Ohtani special section. Here are those portraits.

Even before he signed with the Angels, it was apparent Shohei Ohtani was poised to become one of the greatest players of his generation.

Shohei Ohtani is introduced for the first time as a member of the Angels to much fanfare after becoming an international phenom in Japan.

On Christmas Day, about a month before Shohei Ohtani traveled to the United States for the start of spring training with the Angels, the Nippon-Ham Fighters invited their fans to the Sapporo Dome.

The stadium looked half empty, as was the case many times here last year and the year before that.

Shohei Ohtani would reject it and the Angels would never do it, not to mention the fans, who would absolutely deplore it.

In his first game pitching since having Tommy John surgery, Shohei Ohtani gives up four runs in the first inning of the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Athletics.

It’s only spring training, but Shohei Otani has looked dominant as a hitter and a pitcher for the Angels.

Shohei Ohtani’s cartoon-like feats for the Angels have stunned the baseball world, but it’s very similar to the comic book world that influenced him.

Not since the legendary Babe Ruth has a player dominated on the mound and at the plate like the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani.

Shohei Ohtani wanted to the best baseball’s best player, and he achieved that with his AL MVP honor. But can he win a World Series with the Angels?

The life of a Japanese journalist, one assigned to cover the country’s biggest star playing in Major League Baseball, is all-consuming and relentless.

Shohei Ohtani has ended another disappointing season with the Angels after being placed on IL, however, his time with the team has elevated him.

Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers gives them the perfect player at the perfect time in the team’s pursuit of another World Series title.

The Dodgers have a variety of ways they could commercially capitalize on Shohei Ohtani, from jersey patches to Dodger Stadium field naming rights.

Shohei Ohtani, the two-way Japanese baseball superstar and now Dodgers ace, gives them pride over representation at the highest level in a field relatively few of them tread.

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