Topps Five Star is a tippy-top shelf product, and truly deserves all 5 of the Stars Topps gave itself. The 8-Box Case Break was loaded with stars as well, but this Dual Auto featuring 2 of the biggest names currently on the Anaheim roster stole the show. It was a Jaspy’s Case Breaks Pick Your Team so Pat W walked away with this Angels OF the Outfield Dual Auto numbered to 10.
Shohei Ohtani ladies and gentlemen, he hits, he pitches, he’s bilingual and he’s just an all-around genuine fella. Although he was an excellent, Olympic-Level Swimmer back in Japan, he decided Baseball was his Jonetsu (Japanese for Passion).
Shohei was the first pick of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League Draft. He played for the Fighters in the NPB from 2013 through 2017, as a Pitcher and Outfielder, and in 2016 recorded the fastest pitch in NPB history at 165 kilometers per hour (102.5 mph). Then, in 2017 Ohtani got on a plane to America, where he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in the good old MLB.
In 2018, he won the AL Rookie of the Year Award and the 2021 AL MVP. His 2021 season was formally recognized as “historically significant” by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, as he became the first 2-way player in the history of MLB with 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season while also holding at least a share of the major league lead in home runs in fourteen starts.He was also the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter, and was a starter in the 2021 All-Star Game in both capacities.
In 2022, Ohtani became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in one season, reaching the limits of 3.1 plate appearances and 1 inning pitched per game with 586 at bats against 166 innings pitched.
Welcome to The Show, Shohei!
