Shohei Ohtani's hometown in Japan knew he was a prodigy since Little League
"He made it big all due to his own efforts. We had nothing to do with it," Ohtani's former coach, Shoji Asari, says of the Los Angeles Angels' superstar. Asari emphasized fun over winning.
MIZUSAWA, Japan — Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is often described as a once-in-a century talent, especially for his dual skills as pitcher and hitter.
To understand how Ohtani became such a baseball prodigy, it helps to journey to Ohtani's hometown of Mizusawa, in northern Japan's Iwate prefecture, to see where he got his start in baseball.
Ohtani's Little League team, the Mizusawa Pirates, still practices every weekend at a diamond sandwiched between a country road and a river where salmon swim upstream from the Pacific Ocean.
Ohtani played here in
