HOUSTON.- Shohei Ohtani has already reserved his place in the baseball Olympus. The Japanese player for the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first player to combine 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the history of the Major Leagues on Wednesday in Miami.
When you look at history, it might seem like what the Japanese player did was straight out of a fantasy movie script. But his former teammates on the Los Angeles Angels confirmed a day later how incredible Ohtani can be.
“He’s an amazing player. He’s a good person, a good teammate,” he said in conversation with THE AMERICAS DAILY Ohtani’s former club shortstop Zach Neto, who this season after Shohei’s departure and Mike Trout’s injury, has become one of the team’s key players by hitting 21 home runs and driving in 71 runs.
“I had the opportunity to work with him and he was one of the people who took me under his wing. Unfortunately we are no longer teammates but for me it is nice that he is doing all these great things. It shows dedication and hard work, he loves this sport like we all do, it is something special and I would like to congratulate him.”
For his part, Venezuelan José Quijada has nothing but words of admiration for Ohtani after being teammates and sharing close contact.
“I was sitting next to him on the bus, in the last two seats. I was on the right side and he was on the left side. We played together for three seasons,” recalls the left-hander who returned to the Major Leagues, who this year returned to the big show after Tommy John surgery.
“You expect anything from Ohtani, he’s a guy who plays hard. He does everything, it’s incredible, I’m not impressed because he’s incredible. May God give him good health so he can stay healthy putting up numbers and breaking records,” explains the Venezuelan left-hander, who believes that his former teammate, if he stays healthy, can set many more records in the Major Leagues.
“What else can we expect from Ohtani? He is impressive, he goes out and plays hard, hits a home run, steals two bases. It is a matter of God giving him good health so that he can play the years he has to play and break the records he has to break,” Quijada concluded.
