Shohei Ohtani is one of MLB’s most known faces now. After having settled in with the Angels in 2018 and gone through a few shortened seasons, Ohtani came into his own in 2021. With a two-way season that is seemingly only comparable to Babe Ruth’s 1918 record season, Ohtani rules the roost about now.

But as he marks his return in 2022, this can only present sports’ most dangerous enemy- Expectations. Ohtani, however, appeared to deal with it just fine in a media interaction after his final Spring Training appearance.

Ohtani took the mound in a Spring Training game where the LA Angels took on the Milwaukee Brewers for his final game appearance before Opening Day; safe to say he did not disappoint. Accruing a pitch count as high as 65 pitches thrown, Ohtani was on point for the full duration that he was on the mound; Even drawing a smile from one of the batting line-ups at a pitch that made him freeze up.

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Shohei Ohtani throws in a last appearance on the mound before Opening Day

Speaking through his interpreter after the La Angels’ 10-5 win over the Brewers, Ohtani appeared ready to take on the 2022 season with gusto. Even in terms of pitching, Ohtani was quite excited with his preparations. Said Ohtani, “This is my last start before the season opener so glad I got through the pitch count. Everything went according to plan.”

And Ohtani seemed to be throwing some solid bombs. So much so that Lorenzo Cain had to even begrudgingly smile as he froze him out of a pitch that was called a strike. With some great backups as well, Ohtani seemed to be happy with his preparation. “So everything is going really smooth right now,” he added.

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Shohei Ohtani – the season ahead

However, with some time still to go for Opening Day, the preparations only seem to be ramping up for Ohtani. So what does he think his roadmap for progress from here is? More accolades, of course. And that means more preparation.

Said Ohtani, “I’ll definitely be throwing bullpens in between but the biggest thing is getting recovery and getting fatigue out of the way.”

Ohtani seems to be well aware that this season he starts with a target on his back. With a solid AL MVP win behind him, he will now see players across the league see him in a different light. And Ohtani seems ready for it. “I’m sure that expectations are a bit higher than last time this year so trying to meet those expectations is what I’m shooting for right now,” he added to conclude.

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But how do you see this panning out? Can you see Ohtani continue his 2021 statline and carry it through? Do you think there will be a dip in his showing?