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Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
The coveted 23-year-old athlete is a two-way player who can pitch and bat, a rare talent in the sport. With his skills and records, he has been compared to 1936 Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth.
As a pitcher, Ruth had a 2.55 earned run average (ERA), while Ohtani has 2.52. The ERA measures the efficiency of a pitcher, and a lower score means better performance. In addition, Ruth scored 40 home runs as a batter, while Ohtani has 48 under his belt.
Several teams pursued Ohtani. To help with his decision-making, Ohtani’s party set some conditions and requested the teams to create presentations that explain their philosophies and how they are going to use Ohtani’s talents. They also asked teams to share what they would do to help Ohtani assimilate into American culture and what facilities they would use for major league, minor league, and spring training.
It has always been Ohtani’s goal to play for the American Major League Baseball (MLB). Now, the Japanese prodigy is close to living his dream, but his pay will not be as much as what many people expect based on his abilities. This is because the MLB imposes a limit on the amount of money teams can offer to players younger than 25 years old. In an interview, however, Ohtani said that he does not care much about his pay. He also said that he chose the LA Angels because he felt a connection with them.