Versatile Japanese Baseball Player

Many Japanese baseball fans are paying attentions to Shohei Otani, a star rookie just out of high school.

He is 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) and 86 kg (190 lb), very tall as a Japanese baseball player.

What he is special is that he is a versatile player with rare ability of competency in both hitting (outfielder) and pitching.

Shouhei Otani as a batter

As a Pitcher

He was approached by several American major league teams when he was in high school and wanted to go to a major league, rather than Japanese baseball team.

However, he was persuaded to play in Japan in his early career by Nippon Ham Fighters, who picked up a negotiation right in a 2012 draft, and decided to do so.

He throws 160 km/h (99 mph) fastball and already won a game as a starting pitcher and got more than 20 hits in this his rookie year.

The above results show Otani's talent as a versatile player taking into account the fact that most rookies just out of high school take at least a few years to get his first hit or pitching win.

However, many baseball critics say that he should concentrate on either a pitcher or batter, preferably a pitcher by considering his competency to throw 160 km/h fastball.

I agree to such a view of critics taking into account very high level of Japanese modern baseball.

And hope Otani's dream to be enshrined in American major league baseball Hall of Fame comes true.

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