Former Los Angeles Angels Star Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani has wowed MLB fans ever since his arrival in 2018. What he has been able to do at the plate and on the mound when he is healthy is something baseball fans have never seen before.

MLB Network recently announced their top 100 players going into the 2025 season, and by no surprise, Ohtani comes in at No. 1. He is coming off yet another MVP season with his impressive slugging numbers.

To be in this position, one must be overly dedicated to the sport. For Ohtani, he eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. However, he does have one other hobby outside of baseball, stating so during a 2020 interview via Sports Illustrated.

“If I had to pick something other than baseball it would be playing video games with my teammates,” said Ohtani.

Ohtani revealed that he enjoyed playing video games with his teammates. Baseball and video games were the only things on the two-way phenom’s mind.

“I play a lot of games with Simba, Andrelton Simmons. I don’t really go out too much. I don’t really leave my room. That’s about it,” said Ohtani.

It should not be much of a surprise that the best ballplayer our generation has seen is deeply obsessed with the game and getting better. That is what it takes to be a generational talent in one of the hardest sports to master.

Mike Trout thought Shohei Ohtani’s bat was corked early in his career
Los Angeles Angels – Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani (Photo via IMAGN)

It is tough to impress someone like Mike Trout. He has played with and alongside some of the most powerful hitters the sport has ever seen, while also being a great slugger in his own right.

However, when Trout saw what Shohei Ohtani could do with the bat, he was nearly speechless. All he saw was Ohtani tear the cover off the ball and rarely miss the barrel. It got to a point where Trout became a bit skeptical and had to go and check Ohtani’s bat himself.

“I had to check to see if it was corked” said Trout.

To Trout’s surprise, Ohtani’s bat was not corked, he just had raw strength. Ohtani had great hands and it was just a matter of getting his timing right. After that, he was able to show the world what Trout and his teammates saw during camp.