Shohei Ohtani BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.
Shohei Ohtani has been the talk of baseball yet again this week as he continues to redefine what is possible in Major League Baseball. On September 5, Ohtani made his twelfth start of the season after being scratched from an earlier outing due to a chest cold, taking over on short notice after Tyler Glasnow was sidelined with back tightness. Despite recovering from illness, he returned to pitch against the Baltimore Orioles, hitting over 100 mph on eleven separate pitches—his hardest-hitting and most electric start since his long post-surgery comeback. Early reports from MLB and Fox Sports highlighted that Ohtani reached the five-inning threshold last week to secure his first Dodgers win on the mound since undergoing his second major elbow surgery, a development seen as a significant milestone that propels him firmly back into the elite two-way territory that made him a sensation with the Angels and now the Dodgers. In that same stretch, Ohtani also smashed his 100th home run as a Dodger, and he did it faster than anyone else in franchise history.
On the field, Ohtani has stayed red-hot at the plate even while not always healthy, clocking a career-high 120 mph on an exit-velocity double in Pittsburgh on September 3. Just days earlier, Fox Sports and the Los Angeles Times reported that Ohtani was dealing with chest and sinus issues but refused to come out of the lineup as a hitter, showing his trademark resilience. He is now a leading contender for a fourth MVP award, with sports pundits speculating that the combination of pitching dominance and offensive fireworks could make him a postseason difference-maker—perhaps the most important Dodgers player as the team eyes another World Series run.
Off the field, the aftershocks of the notorious Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal continue to ripple quietly; last week, former bookmaker Matthew Bowyer was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $1.56 million in restitution, while Ohtani remains untouched, officially deemed a victim and fully cleared by MLB. On the business front, Ohtani’s past year has rocketed his financial profile: his net worth was pegged at $50 million for 2024, but with endorsement deals predicted to top $65 million this year alone and his record-shattering $700 million Dodgers contract, Forbes and Sports Illustrated have both declared him the highest-paid player not only in baseball but in all professional sports, ever.
Social media has been ablaze with highlight reels of his two-way action, with MLB’s official accounts pushing video of his 101.5 mph heat against Baltimore and several pundits on X (Twitter) openly debating what historic feats he could still unlock as October approaches. National headlines this week have focused on his rapid pitch velocity return, the 100-Dodgers-home-run milestone, and his battle-hardened comeback story. There is some minor and as-yet-unconfirmed buzz surrounding a lawsuit over a real estate project in Hawaii, but no evidence as of now links Ohtani directly to wrongdoing.
In short, Ohtani has solidified his status as the most compelling figure in sports this week—his blend of showmanship, resilience, and trailblazing achievement keeping him front and center both on the diamond and in the public imagination.
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