Japan’s Shohei Ohtani Makes History in All-Star Game

If you think you know who the best athlete in the world is, you may want to think again.

It could be basketball's LeBron James, soccer's Cristiano Ronaldo or Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky.

But the days surrounding Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado – played Tuesday night -- demonstrated¹ the abilities of Japan's Shohei Ohtani.

A member of the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is in his fourth baseball season in the U.S. after starting his career in Japan. At the age of 27, Ohtani is the first-ever player selected to pitch and hit in an All-Star Game.

The game celebrates the best hitters and the best pitchers³ of the season. A pitcher² starts the action in baseball by trying to throw the ball past a hitter.

On Tuesday night, Ohtani opened the game as the first hitter for the American League team. At the bottom of the inning, he pitched against hitters from the National League team.

The 2021 season is a little more than halfway⁴ done. So far, Ohtani has 33 home runs, the most in all of baseball. A home run is a long hit that counts for at least one "run" in baseball. Ohtani has also pitched 13 times for the Angels this year. He is good at preventing the other team's hitters from hitting the ball.

Last April, in a game against the Chicago White Sox, Ohtani threw a baseball at the speed of 162 kilometers per hour. He then hit a baseball that traveled 185 kilometers per hour.

Baseball experts compare Ohtani to the famous New York Yankee, Babe Ruth. Ruth pitched and hit early in his career. But he is better known for his long home runs in the 1920s and 1930s. Ruth probably could have been the first chosen to both hit and pitch in the baseball All-Star Game, but the event started in 1933 after Ruth had stopped pitching.

Baseball's best players are impressed with Ohtani's ability to both pitch and hit. Most think doing just one thing is hard enough.

Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves is one of baseball's best hitters. He said he used to pitch when he was young, but not anymore. "Anytime he's on the field, you're just amazed⁵ that he has the energy – the mental energy – to handle all that," Freeman said of Ohtani.

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets won the home run competition on Monday night. He said most people look at Ohtani and think: "Oh, no, he can't do that." And then, "[he] goes out and does it."

The starting pitcher for the National League is Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals. Scherzer will pitch to Ohtani at the beginning of the game. He said: "It would be awesome⁶ if I can hit." Scherzer has not gotten a hit in 30 tries this year.

Ohtani said he did not think he would be chosen to pitch in the All-Star Game. But Major League Baseball players selected him to pitch in the game. "It's a huge honor," he said. "And I'm going to try my best."

Baseball made a small rule change to permit Ohtani to stay in the game and hit one or two times after he is done pitching. The American League team leader, known as the manager, is Kevin Cash. He is happy about the change.

"This is what the fans want to see," he said.

Words in This Story

athlete – n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength

pitch – v. to throw a baseball to a batter⁷ : to throw a pitch

inning – n. one of the usually nine parts of a baseball game in which each team bats until three outs are made

impress – v. to cause (someone) to feel admiration⁸ or interest

amazed – adj. feeling or showing great surprise

handle – v. to deal with something successfully

awesome – adj. causing feelings of wonder

1 demonstrated   

举行示威游行（或集会）( demonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )； 示范。展示； 显示； 论证

参考例句：

• All of those demonstrated the correctness of his analysis. 这一切都证明了他分析的正确性。
• The fireman demonstrated great courage in saving the child. 那位消防队员在抢救孩子的过程中，表现了极大的勇气。

2 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

3 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

4 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

5 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。