Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball player who plays as a pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. He has become one of the best and most highly decorated players in today’s since his debut season in 2018, winning the 2021 AL MVP, AL Rookie of the Year, the Silver Slugger Award and making two All-MLB teams. Before joining MLB, he also dominated Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he played from 2013 to 2017. He took home the 2016 Pacific League MVP and Japan Series Champion, as well as being named a five-time NPB All-Star. Most recently, Ohtani led Japan to a World Baseball Classic title in thrilling fashion. In this article, however, we will be talking about Shohei Ohtani’s net worth in 2023, which is on the rise in a big way.
Shohei Ohtani’s net worth in 2023 (estimate): $10-15 million
Shohei Ohtani’s net worth in 2023 is estimated to be around $10-15 million, per sources like Celebrity Net Worth and Sportskeeda, but that is about to go way up.
Let us now learn more about the life of Shohei Ohtani and his journey to becoming one of the best players in MLB today.
Shohei Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994, in Ōshū, Iwate, Japan, to parents Kayoku and Toru Otani. He came from athletic genes as his mother was a national-level badminton player and his father was an amateur baseball player who played in the Japanese Industrial League. He is the youngest of three children, with older sister named Yuka and an older brother named Ryuta, who is also an amateur baseball player in the Japanese Industrial League.
He was trained by his father growing up, displaying a mastery of the game at an early age. He was also known as “yakyū shōnen” which translates to “a kid who lives, breathes, and eats baseball.” He started to play the sport in his second year of elementary school and recorded 17 out of 18 outs in a six-inning regional championship game as a seventh grader.
His skill allowed him to choose any of the powerhouse high school teams in big cities such as Osaka or Yokohoma. Instead, he decided to stay close to home, attending Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture. Aside from being part of the baseball team, he also competed as a swimmer. His baseball coach said that he was a fast swimmer who could have made the Olympics. On top of that, he threw a 99 mph fastball as an 18-year-old.
After high school, Shohei Ohtani expressed his desire to play in the major leagues, receiving interest from teams such as the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Still, he was selected with the first pick of the 2012 NPB Draft by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He ultimately decided to play with the Fighters for a few years before achieving his MLB dreams.
Shohei Ohtani made his professional debut on March 29, 2013, at the age of 18 years old, playing as a right fielder. He was selected to participate in the 2013 NPB All-Star Game as part of the Pacific League roster.
He played for five years in the NPB, garnering a bevy of individual accolades.
2015 WBSC Player of the Year
2x Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize
2015 Pacific League Battery Award
2015 Pacific League ERA Leader
2016 Designated Hitter Best Nine
2x Pacific League Pitcher Best Nine
5x NPB All-Star
2016 Pacific League MVP
2016 Japan Series Champions
On Nov. 21, 2017, the NPB and MLB came to an agreement to send Shohei Ohtani to the MLB. However, because he was under 25 years old, his bonus was capped at $3.6 million and he was limited to a rookie salary scale. He then decided to sign with the Los Angeles Angels for a $2.3 million bonus, with the team paying a $20 million posting fee to the Fighters.
On March 29, 2018, Shohei Ohtani made his MLB debut as the Angels’ designated hitter. On April 3, he hit his first MLB home run. He ended his first season playing 104 games, with a batting average of .285 and a .361 on-base percentage. He also had 22 home runs, 61 RBI and 10 stolen bases — joining the legendary Babe Ruth as the only player with 10 pitching appearances and 20 homers in a season. He capped off his first season as the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year.
Shohei Ohtani struggled during the 2019 and 2020 seasons because of injury and the shortened year in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then dedicated himself to improving during the offseason, changing his diet and focusing on strengthening his lower body, eventually bulking up to 225 pounds.
On Feb. 8, 2021, he agreed to a two-year $8.5 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Angels.
Shohei Ohtani returned the trust of the Angels by having an incredible season. He was named the American League Player of the Month for June for the first time in his career. He also made history by becoming the first player to be selected as an All-Star as both a position player and pitcher.
He finished the season as the unanimous American League MVP, also becoming the first player ever to make both All-MLB teams — First Team at DH and Second Team at pitcher. On top of that, he was also named to the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People and won multiple Athlete and Player of the Year awards from the Associated Press, Sporting News, Baseball Digest and Baseball America.
In the same year, he also won the Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award. Sporting News ranked his 2021 campaign as No. 1 on a list of the 50 greatest individual seasons in sports history, ahead of efforts from legendary athletes like Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady and Babe Ruth.
He continued his incredible play during the 2022 season, once again being selected as an All-Star at designated hitter and starting pitcher. He was also named the Best Major Player League Player and the Best Male Athlete in the 2022 ESPY Awards. He finished second in MVP voting behind Aaron Judge.
As for his endorsements, Shohei Ohtani led the league in annual endorsement earnings in 2021 with a total of $6 million. He brought in an estimated $20 million from endorsements in 2022, and is the cover athlete for video game game MLB The Show 22.
Needless to say, the future is bright for the 28-year-old MLB superstar, especially after his epic World Baseball Classic showing. Ohtani stared down Angels teammate Mike Trout of Team USA and struck him out to end the championship game to give Japan the victory.
Looking ahead, Ohtani and Trout will try to win a World Series with the Angels during a 2023 season in which he will make $30 million in salary. Forbes also has Ohtani tabbed at No. 1 on the list of MLB’s highest-paid players for 2023, with the two-way star set to rake in an MLB-record $65 million for the year.
As impressive as that is, many people have their eyes on Ohtani’s upcoming free agency. The Japanese star is expected to garner the biggest contract in MLB history, with estimates of a deal worth over $500 million. That will certainly raise his net worth in the future.
With all of this being said, were you surprised by Shohei Ohtani’s net worth in 2023?
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