Shohei Ohtani donated 60K youth baseball gloves to Japanese elementary schools. What did he say about his hopes?
As he continues to impact the world of baseball on the field, the Japanese star is also doing so off of it, and in a way that we just can’t help but love.
While we wait to see where baseball’s best player ends up and on what terms, he himself has been keeping busy with philanthropic activity and we have to say it’s the kind of the thing that serparates the Angels star from most others and continues to cement his position as a global icon.
Shohei Ohtani makes massive donation to Japanese elementary schools
One has to admit that whether you’re a fan of his or not, it’s hard to not like Shohei Ohtani. If we focus on baseball, he’s the best two-way player we’ve seen in a generation, and if we focus on off-the-field matters, he’s as down-to-earth and humble as one could hope for. Indeed, according to reports on Wednesday, Ohtani showed us once again why he continues to endear himself to the baseball world and beyond. As per reports, the 29-year-old Los Angeles Angels star indicated via his Instagram page that he would be donating a total of 60,000 youth baseball gloves to around 20,000 elementary schools in Japan.
Ohtani made it clear that he wants to inspire a love of baseball in the generation to come, and to that end is hopeful that he will one day see one of the children to whom he’s donating on an MLB field. “I’m hoping the kids can spend their days happily with a lot of energy through baseball,” Ohtani wrote. “I’ll be looking forward to sharing the field one day with someone that grew up using this glove!”
What’s Shohei Ohtani’s situation right now?
It’s interesting to note that Ohtani’s donation comes at a moment when all eyes are on him. With the World Series now over it goes without saying that the focus of the baseball world is on the future of the Angels’ star. At his age and stage, Ohtani is as big an influence on the field as he is off it. While he recently underwent surgery on his elbow which will likely see him unable to pitch until 2025, the reality is that won’t stop him from landing the most lucrative contract in MLB history, with the general consensus being that the deal will exceed $500 million. When considering the idea that across his career he’s posted a 148 OPS+ and a 145 ERA+, it’s not exactly surprising.
Yet, as much as we’ve heard figures tossed around, questions remain as to not only what Ohtani is likely to earn, but how long would such a contract last, and of course who is going to offer it. Where the team’s hopeful of signing baseball’s best player is concerned, most generally agree that it’s going to be one of three: The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, or New York Mets - you can read more about that here - but when it comes to the nature of the contract, we can only really wait and watch.