Chinese Herald PEN column
Sanjia Village Yang Wenkai
In Japanese society, there are not many good things that can make people's eyes shine, click on the homepage of Yahoo Japan's website, a series of negative or dark news, which is not unrelated to the Japanese media reporting on "negative chains". Recently, the Fukushima nuclear treatment water discharge turmoil, the personal number card is full of loopholes, the tragedy of Liyuan in which Ichikawa Samonosuke's family of three committed suicide is still continuing, the first anniversary of the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe, the trial of the murderer Toruya Yamagami is far away...
Among them, the only exciting news that makes people look forward to every day is that Shohei Otani (28 years old • Los Angeles Angels), who is active in Major League Baseball (MLB), hit consecutive home runs and set new records. In this regard, the Japanese media did not hesitate to provide prime time and important pages, and reported on Shohei Otani's amazing performance one after another, which finally brought a bright color of encouragement to Japan.
Shohei Otani just passed his 29th birthday and joined Major League Baseball for only six seasons, but he has grown into a once-in-a-century baseball wizard, with good looks, strength, character, and popularity. Compared with the so-called "Heisei waste firewood", Shohei Otani, who is tall, sunny and handsome, and humble and gentleman, sets new records and makes history every day, which not only makes the Japanese proud, but also is madly loved by American fans, as if he has become the image representative of the Japanese in the world, and does not make a second choice.
Just how powerful Shohei Otani is and how amazing his explosive on the court is, there are records in the first half of 2023 just past.
Since joining Major League Baseball, Shohei Otani has won various awards, from the best rookie king to the MVP of the year. In 2021, Otani won the "Major League Player of the Year" and "American League Player of the Year", making him the first player in major league history to win two awards of the year and the first Japanese player to win Player of the Year. As a rare "two-knife stream" player, Otani was the first player to start as a pitcher and designated hitter in the major leagues, and the first player to make at least 100 pitches, 100 strikeouts, and hit 100 amps, 100 RBIs, and 100 points as a batter in the same season - both of which set Guinness World Records. This achievement almost perfectly replicates Otani's achievements in Japan - in 2016, Otani won both the best pitcher and best batsman awards of the Japan Professional Baseball League, becoming the first player in Japanese history to win both awards at the age of 22.
2023 is a more brilliant season for Shohei Otani. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Otani led Japan to a 3-2 victory over defending champions of the United States to win the world championship, winning both MVP, Best Pitcher and Best Designated Hit. For baseball players, this is an amazing achievement, but for Otani, it's just beginning, and it's just a prelude to a new season. Since the start of the 2023 season, Otani has gradually improved and finally exploded in June, giving amazing performances that make history almost every day.
In the first half of the season ending June 30, Otani hit 30 home runs, a standout in the major leagues, and it is expected that he could hit a super-run of 58 home runs throughout the season. Otani hit 46 home runs in the 2021 season, second of the year and won the "Silver Baseball Award". Throughout June of the 2023 season, Otani has been in full swing on the playing line, and it is not an exaggeration to call it "Otani Moon". Throughout June, Otani played 27 games and hit 15 home runs, setting new team, individual and Japanese records. Whenever Otani hits a pitch, confidently and dashingly throws away the bat, and watches the flying ball fly out of the field in a graceful arc of a parabola, it is the moment when he sets a record.
On June 22, Major League Fair released the seventh "latest batting power ranking" this year, and Otani ranked first with 18 games, 3.77 hitting percentages, 9 home runs and 20 RBIs; On July 6, MLB released its eighth "Latest Hitting Power Ranking", and Otani won the first place with 27 games, a 3.94 hitting percentage, 15 home runs, and 29 RBIs. With 15 home runs in June, the fourth in history since 1930, Otani earned both MVP of the month and MVP of the week. Major League Baseball praised that in the history of MLB, there were almost no hitters like Otani in June, which can no longer be described by earthlings.
Shohei Otani, who currently occupies the top spot in the MLB home run list, surpasses the famous senior Hideki Matsui in the major leagues. In mid-June, Shohei Otani hit his 150th home run in MLB, and also achieved a total of 200 home runs in Japan and the United States. Shohei Otani hit 150 home runs in 652 games and Hideki Matsui (49, retired) hit 150 home runs after 988 games. Matsui Hideki once set the record for the most home runs a Japanese hitter has hit in MLB (175) in 1,236 games, and now Otani is less than 20 away from this record, and history is just around the corner.
Shohei Otani is breaking old records and setting new records every day, so that the expectations of fans are never disappointed, and the Japanese people are excited. Sumo wrestling has been a national sport in Japan since ancient times, but in modern times, baseball has been Japan's national sport. The Japanese professional baseball game is highly competitive, and the whole society has a strong baseball atmosphere and a large number of loyal fans. Since the beginning of the 21st century, excellent Japanese players have shined internationally, often joining Major League Baseball and becoming the "Light of Japan". Legendary player Ichiro Suzuki's record of 262 hits in a single season in MLB is difficult to break, and he is an eternal idol in the hearts of the Japanese; When Matsui Hideki joined the Yankees in 2002, Tokyo saw him off, and he lived up to expectations by setting a Japanese home run record in MLB. After 2018, the new generation of baseball idol Shohei Otani won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year King, and the 2021 MVP of the Year, not only surpassing his predecessors, but also repeatedly occupying the headlines in Japan and becoming a household name.
Baseball has been introduced to Japan from the United States in 1872 for more than 150 years. Japanese education is influenced by the ancient Chinese concept of "both culture and martial arts", and in addition to good academic performance, it is also necessary to participate in sports and social activities, help parents, etc. With education as the core and competitive entertainment as the carrier, the development path of Japanese baseball is diversified, combined with youth, enthusiasm, as well as different platforms such as animation and games, baseball has unlimited charm in Japan and has been created into a unique cultural phenomenon, even the originator of baseball, the United States, has to sigh at itself.
Koshien, the venue for the finals of the Japanese High School Baseball League, is a place where miracles continue to be created, and it is also the place where the talented baseball teenager Shohei Otani came to prominence. There, a baseball talent from Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture, Tohoku, set a new Japanese high school league ball strikeout strikeout with a 160km/h speedball. The genius boy who shook Japan at Koshien Stadium was Shohei Otani. In 2018, Japan's most popular athlete, then only 24 years old MLB MLB player Shohei Otani embossed figure skating prince Hanyu Yuzuru, ranked first. Later facts showed that all this was not accidental, from Koshien to the major league baseball arena, Shohei Otani became a superstar step by step, setting off a frenzy in Japan and the United States.
Now, just halfway through the 2023 season, Otani is at the midpoint of his professional baseball career. As a "two-knife stream" player, Shohei Otani chased Babe Ruth, the "god of baseball" in the United States more than 80 years ago. Otani has surpassed his personal peak and the greatness of his predecessors to enter the no-man's land of Ichima Hirakawa, and every hit and game he has is expected to set new records and engrave new history. Such a baseball hero is supposed to be a character in a manga, but Shohei Otani staged an incredible live-action version. If you use football to explain it, he is both a striker and a goalkeeper, and the key is that he won the Golden Boot award while winning the best goalkeeper. Such a terrifying record drove fans crazy and excited and proud to be in the same era as Otani and witness him continue to challenge and achieve great things. It's show time (the homonym for "sho time" in Japanese) continues to be staged, and Otani has built a true legend and his own era.