Why 'face of baseball' is on cusp of global stardom

Who has the most lucrative contract in world sport? Lionel Messi? Cristiano Ronaldo? LeBron James?

If you've been following Major League Baseball then you'll know the answer is, in fact, Shohei Ohtani.

For four years running the 30-year-old has been an MLB All-Star, but this season the Japanese superstar has reached another level.

After crossing Los Angeles from the Angels to the Dodgers in December, he's captured the imagination of US sports fans with a record-breaking season - and it's not over yet.

On Saturday, Ohtani finally makes his post-season debut during the Division Series, and you can watch two of the games live on the BBC.

Here's how Ohtani's become a baseball legend and why he's on the cusp of global stardom.

The first thing that makes Ohtani remarkable is he's a two-way player. In 2021, he became the first player to be selected for the All-Star game as both a hitter and pitcher.

There have been some two-way players dotted throughout baseball history but Ohtani is the first to be elite at both disciplines at the same time.

"The idea that somebody could be so good at both was mind-blowing," says Joe Posnanski, author of Why We Love Baseball.

"Babe Ruth started his career as a pitcher and ended up being the greatest home-run hitter of them all. There were a couple of years in the middle where he did pitch some but he was mostly a hitter."

Two-way players are more common in Japan and Ohtani spent five years honing his skills playing professional baseball in his homeland, before switching to the US.

"I remember speaking to a scout when he was playing in Japan," says 2008 World Series winner Chase Utley. "He came back and was in awe. He said 'this guy is by far the best player I've ever seen'.

"It takes so much time and effort to excel at one skillset. The fact he's dominated at both is hard to fathom."

Ohtani joined the Angels before the 2018 season and was named the American League's Rookie of the Year.

After a couple of seasons disrupted by injury, Ohtani was named the AL's Most Valuable Player in 2021 and 2023, and was runner-up in 2022.

He then became a free agent, with the Dodgers signing him on a 10-year deal worth $700m (£558m). In May, Forbes, external said that former Manchester United footballer Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete over the previous 12 months. But the total value of Ohtani's contract is greater than that of Ronaldo, Messi and American football quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

According to Forbes, Ohtani's on-field earnings were more than doubled by his off-field income of $60m (£45.2m). Only Messi and basketball stars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo earned more.

This year James and Ohtani signed exclusive long-term trading-card deals with Topps - a division of Fanatics Collectibles. Their president of trading cards, David Leiner, explains that Ohtani is popular not just for being a "once-in-a-lifetime player".

"He's a really likeable guy," he says. "He works his butt off on the field and is a great face for the sport. He's transcending baseball."

Ohtani is closely guarded about his private life and made a shock announcement in February that he'd got married to a "typical, ordinary person", revealing his wife's identity two weeks later by sharing a picture on Instagram.

He also trained his dog Decoy to 'throw' the first pitch at a game in August, and has even had pictures of him on his boots and the lining of his suit for this year’s All-Star game.

What's also remarkable is how Ohtani hasn't pitched all season because of elbow surgery, yet he's used that opportunity to add another dimension to his game - and another feat to his countless records and milestones.

His previous best for home runs and stolen bases in a season were 46 and 26 respectively. As Ohtani pursued those targets, there was a tracker on the MLB website.

"Baseball's a very statistical game," says Posnanski. "It's fun that we cherish the numbers more than any other sport, and it seemed every day he'd set some sort of new record."

Not only did Ohtani finish with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases, but he became the first player to reach 50-50, and the man nicknamed 'Shotime' achieved the feat in style, with arguably the best batting performance ever.

"He couldn't pitch this year so then he blows our minds as a hitter," Posnanski adds. "Hitting a home run requires great power and stealing bases requires great speed. They're polar opposites."

Utley says that Ohtani "can really do it all".

"He hits the ball further than anyone else, is the fastest runner on the field and can pitch at more than 100mph. It doesn't seem humanly possible, but he can do it."

During Ohtani's six years with the Angels they failed to make the play-offs, but he joined a team that are post-season regulars. The Dodgers won the last of their seven World Series titles in 2020.

Ohtani then decided to defer $680m (£541m) of his $700m contract, to be paid between 2034 and 2043, allowing the Dodgers to keep a competitive roster.

They have reached the play-offs for a 12th straight year, meaning Ohtani will end the longest play-off drought among current players - 866 games.

He is hugely popular in the US and Japan, but a World Series success could catapult him to global stardom and cement his status as baseball's greatest of all time.

"We're all pretty excited," says Posnanski. "What's held Ohtani back is not playing in the post-season, that's when the stars come out.

"If he can do something great in a World Series, that would probably push him into the LeBron, Steph Curry category. The greatest tend to have that moment."

There's even the slightest possibility Ohtani could pitch, external in the post-season.

"Now everyone can see what he's all about," adds Utley. "It'll be interesting to see how many young players try to emulate him. It's great for baseball."