Shohei Ohtani, Angels Lock Up a $30 Million Deal for 2023

There was plenty of individual glory for Ohtani during his six seasons with the Angels, including an AL-leading 44 home runs in 2023 and an array of titanic blasts while he donned his former club's jersey. And despite his injury setbacks as a pitcher, Ohtani has demonstrated that it's possible to thrive as a two-way player in the modern era. He's…

Ohtani, who leads MLB with 31 home runs through Sunday, excelled as a hitter in June, batting.394 in 27 games. He hit 15 homers and drove in 29 runs in the month as the Los Angeles Angels designated hitter. In addition, Ohtani smacked three triples and seven doubles in June. Fans selected the 28-year-old superstar to start at DH for the AL in the…

Izumiya, who has won six of seven races he's participated in this year, is scheduled to compete in the 2023 World Athletics Championships (August 19-27) in Budapest. Launched in 2010, the Diamond League is the premier series of international track and field meets each year. The circuit gives a glimpse of what to expect among top competitors at the…

After his otherworldly performance in the recent World Baseball Classic, Shohei Ohtani is being touted as one of the top athletes not just in baseball, but in the world. The Los Angeles Angels star is 28, and has already won an AL Rookie of the Year and an MVP Award. The two-way phenom also recently became the first player in history to register…

Bauer, who made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, has a career record of 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA with 1416 strikeouts in 1297⅔ innings (222 games). The North Hollywood, California, native hasn't pitched in MLB since June 2021, his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB placed Bauer on leave in July 2021 after allegations of…

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kenta Maeda throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Dave Nelson/USA TODAY SPORTS) Before joining the Minnesota Twins in 2020, veteran pitcher Kenta Maeda had a trio of double-digit win seasons since he made his MLB debut with the Los…

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish fires a pitch to a Philadelphia Phillies batter in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on October 18, 2022, in San Diego. (Gregory Bull/AP) Yu Darvish was set to become a free agent after the 2023 MLB season. That changed on Thursday, February 9 when Darvish and the San Diego Padres finalized a…

Veteran outfielder Masataka Yoshida has accepted a five-year contract offer from the Boston Red Sox, according to published reports. The deal is worth $90 million USD (¥12.34 billion JPY), according to MLB, which announced the deal on Wednesday, December 7. According to MLB.com, the Red Sox will also pay a $15.4 million USD (¥2.1 billion JPY)…

Danon Beluga (right), one of Heart's Cry's offspring, competes in the G3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) at Tokyo Racecourse on February 13. (ⒸSANKEI) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. It's easy to forget most horse race results due to the bevy of activity and busy year-round schedules at…

Japan national team manager Hajime Moriyasu announces the roster for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup on November 1 in Tokyo. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. In selecting Japan's 2022 FIFA World Cup roster, men's national team manager Hajime Moriyasu assembled a squad that…

Yokohama FC's Koki Ogawa scores his second goal against Roasso Kumamoto on October 23. (KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Remarkable achievements happen throughout the year. And one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a columnist is discovering, researching and writing about such things…

Mina Sato competes in the women's keirin final at the 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships on October 16 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (Japan Keirin Association/via KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Decades ago, the American comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello weighed in on a…

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani (AP, KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Here's something everybody can agree on: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are two of Planet Baseball's most electrifying players. And any short list of the game's current…

Not only was Shohei Ohtani one of the top pitchers in MLB this season, he was one of the premier hitters in the game, too. He's the Babe Ruth of the 21st Century. And he might be on a new team for the 2023 season. It seems unfathomable that the Los Angeles Angels would ship away the game's transcendent star. But Ohtani is a free agent after 2023.…

Japan's Kie Tamai carries the ball as Canada's Mikiela Nelson attempts to make a tackle in a Women's Rugby World Cup match on October 9 in Whangarei, New Zealand. (Courtesy of World Rugby/via SANKEI) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Global tournaments are important testing grounds for individual…

This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Two rising American tennis stars renewed their rivalry in the men's singles final at the Rakuten Japan Open on Sunday, October 9. World No. 11 Taylor Fritz and 19th-ranked Frances Tiafoe went all-out in pursuit of every point in just under 1 hour and 57 minutes of…

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani gets ready for the team's game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, California, on October 4. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. The second full season of Shohei Ohtani's one-of-a-kind role as a full-time starting…

Alpinista holds off Vadeni to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris on October 2. (AP/via KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Alpinista won the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, outracing a field of 19 other thoroughbreds in heavy rain on Sunday afternoon, October 2. Japanese…

Lee had the best day of the trio, shooting a 6-under 66, including eight birdies, to claim her first title on the tour. She finished at 19-under 269. Ecuador's Daniela Darquea carded an 18-under 270, including a 66 on Sunday, to finish a shot adrift of former Stanford University standout Lee. Furue, who won the Women's Scottish Open on July 31,…

Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Karl B DeBlaker/AP) As the new captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Suzuki will fill a key leadership position for the NHL franchise. This visible role in the hockey-obsessed nation puts Suzuki in the…

San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 2. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY SPORTS) When Yu Darvish made his NPB debut for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2005, nobody predicted that he'd have 3000 career strikeouts 17 years later. But we can look at the totality of Darvish's…

Japan point guard Yuki Kawamura runs the offense against Kazakhstan in a 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier on August 30 at Okinawa Arena. (FIBA.BASKETBALL) Balanced scoring and a strong all-around effort in the second half ignited Japan to a 73-48 triumph over Kazakhstan in a 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier on Tuesday, August 30. Japan…

Ohtani, who was penciled in Angels manager Joe Maddon's lineup as the designated hitter, lasted 4⅔ innings in his first Opening Day start to usher in his fifth MLB season. He received the assignment twice during his NPB career, in 2015 and 2016 with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The game began with Ohtani firing a 99-mph (159-kph) fastball to…