2015 WBSC Player of the Year Shohei Ohtani wins 2018 MLB AL Rookie of the Year

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) 2015 Baseball Player of the Year, Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation, 24-year-old Shohei Ohtani was named the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) American League Rookie of the Year.

In Ohtani’s first big league season, he matched one of baseball’s biggest icons, Babe Ruth, as the only player since 1900 to hit 20+ home runs and win more than four games as a pitcher in the same season. In his debut, Ohtani hit .285 with 22 home runs, while posting a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA on the mound.

Othani becomes the fourth Japanese-born player to win the MLB Rookie of the Year.

With the Samurai Japan National Baseball Team, Ohtani has awed audiences worldwide in major international competition, and was unhittable (13 IP, 21 K, 2 BB, 3 H, 0.00 ERA) at the WBSC Premier12 2015.

Shohei Otani named 2015 WBSC Baseball Player of the Year! #Premier12: 13 IP, 21 K, 2 BB, 3 H, 0.00 ERA @fighterspr samuraijapan_pr @npb pic.twitter.com/062ri43nS4

— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) October 16, 2017

In 2016, he hit a ball through the roof of the Tokyo Dome.

????? Shohei Ohtani hits the ball THROUGH THE ROOF at Tokyo Dome !!!!! #GobalSeries https://t.co/waNn1sZbcx

— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 14, 2016

Ohtani debuted on the world stage at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2012 in Seoul, Korea, pitching and batting clean-up, before being drafted in the first round by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Flashback: Shohei Ohtani: Starting Pitcher/Clean-Up Hitter/Left Fielder vs CAN at #U18WorldCup 2012 #ShoTime pic.twitter.com/p9J4SJuNlw

— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) April 9, 2018