Japan's Shohei Ohtani Makes History in All-Star Game
2021-07-14
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1If you think you know who the best athlete in the world is, you may want to think again.
2It could be basketball's LeBron James, soccer's Cristiano Ronaldo or Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky.
3But the days surrounding Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado - played Tuesday night -- demonstrated the abilities of Japan's Shohei Ohtani.
4A member of the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is in his fourth baseball season in the U.S. after starting his career in Japan.
5At the age of 27, Ohtani is the first-ever player selected to pitch and hit in an All-Star Game.
6The game celebrates the best hitters and the best pitchers of the season.
7A pitcher starts the action in baseball by trying to throw the ball past a hitter.
8On Tuesday night, Ohtani opened the game as the first hitter for the American League team.
9At the bottom of the inning, he pitched against hitters from the National League team.
10The 2021 season is a little more than halfway done.
11So far, Ohtani has 33 home runs, the most in all of baseball.
12A home run is a long hit that counts for at least one "run" in baseball.
13Ohtani has also pitched 13 times for the Angels this year.
14He is good at preventing the other team's hitters from hitting the ball.
15Last April, in a game against the Chicago White Sox, Ohtani threw a baseball at the speed of 162 kilometers per hour.
16He then hit a baseball that traveled 185 kilometers per hour.
17Baseball experts compare Ohtani to the famous New York Yankee, Babe Ruth.
18Ruth pitched and hit early in his career.
19But he is better known for his long home runs in the 1920s and 1930s.
20Ruth probably could have been the first chosen to both hit and pitch in the baseball All-Star Game,
21but the event started in 1933 after Ruth had stopped pitching.
22Baseball's best players are impressed with Ohtani's ability to both pitch and hit.
23Most think doing just one thing is hard enough.
24Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves is one of baseball's best hitters.
25He said he used to pitch when he was young, but not anymore.
26"Anytime he's on the field, you're just amazed that he has the energy - the mental energy - to handle all that," Freeman said of Ohtani.
27Pete Alonso of the New York Mets won the home run competition on Monday night.
28He said most people look at Ohtani and think: "Oh, no, he can't do that."
29And then, "[he] goes out and does it."
30The starting pitcher for the National League is Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals.
31Scherzer will pitch to Ohtani at the beginning of the game.
32He said: "It would be awesome if I can hit."
33Scherzer has not gotten a hit in 30 tries this year.
34Ohtani said he did not think he would be chosen to pitch in the All-Star Game.
35But Major League Baseball players selected him to pitch in the game.
36"It's a huge honor," he said.
37"And I'm going to try my best."
38Baseball made a small rule change to permit Ohtani to stay in the game and hit one or two times after he is done pitching.
39The American League team leader, known as the manager, is Kevin Cash. He is happy about the change.
40"This is what the fans want to see," he said.
41I'm Dan Friedell.
1If you think you know who the best athlete in the world is, you may want to think again. 2It could be basketball's LeBron James, soccer's Cristiano Ronaldo or Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky. 3But the days surrounding Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado - played Tuesday night -- demonstrated the abilities of Japan's Shohei Ohtani. 4A 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. 5The game celebrates the best hitters and the best pitchers of the season. A pitcher starts the action in baseball by trying to throw the ball past a hitter. 6On 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. 7The 2021 season is a little more than halfway 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. 8Last 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. 9Baseball 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. 10Baseball's best players are impressed with Ohtani's ability to both pitch and hit. Most think doing just one thing is hard enough. 11Freddie 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 amazed that he has the energy - the mental energy - to handle all that," Freeman said of Ohtani. 12Pete 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." 13The 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 awesome if I can hit." Scherzer has not gotten a hit in 30 tries this year. 14Ohtani 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." 15Baseball 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. 16"This is what the fans want to see," he said. 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Ronald Blum wrote this story for The Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 19What do you think about Ohtani's baseball success? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 20____________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22athlete - n. a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength 23pitch - v. to throw a baseball to a batter : to throw a pitch 24inning - n. one of the usually nine parts of a baseball game in which each team bats until three outs are made 25impress - v. to cause (someone) to feel admiration or interest 26amazed - adj. feeling or showing great surprise 27handle - v. to deal with something successfully 28awesome - adj. causing feelings of wonder