Ignoring the various possibilities surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s next team would be shortsighted. We couldn’t care less which club this exceptional player will join next year or the astronomical sum he’ll sign for. So why would Baseball TV France be interested in covering this topic when they have no additional information to offer?
The subject that fascinates us is this: how a sport as old as baseball, which originally required players to excel in both defense and offense, gradually separated the roles of pitcher and hitter. We’re often reminded of the statistics of baseball legends like Babe Ruth, who excelled in both home runs and strikeouts. Then, professional sports embraced specialization: on one hand, the power hitter capable of being a designated hitter, and on the other, the pitcher dedicated solely to pitching. This professional world even specializes further with left-handed or right-handed pitchers, starters, and closers…
It wasn’t until 2018 that a certain Ohtani emerged with his new team, the Angels, reviving the dual role of pitcher and hitter that his Japanese club, the Fighters, had already embraced. A mid-career biography of Ohtani on Disney+ highlights how this player, aware of his dual skills, truly wanted to showcase them in his career, despite this practice being largely forgotten for many years. At 18, he chose to stay in Japan to demonstrate his ability to manage both pitching and hitting. The Angels secured Ohtani’s signature by promising him this opportunity. He initially struggled to adapt to American life but then broke through in 2021, winning MVP honors. In 2023, he repeated the feat, winning another MVP and leading Japan to a thrilling World Baseball Classic victory over American Mike Trout. However, during the season, while posting stratospheric statistics not seen in decades, he injured himself and stopped pitching. Now, he’s at a crossroads again. He says he’s always made decisions based on instinct. His new franchise will have to promise he can return to being both a pitcher and a hitter, even if the surgery he underwent will prevent him from pitching next season.
Beyond the Ohtani phenomenon, it’s important to ask why such players are so rare. Intrinsic talent, technical skill, and an unbreakable mental fortitude are, of course, the first explanations. The professional system’s push for hyper-specialization is another. The chances of a player born in the USA becoming a two-way pitcher and hitter are practically nonexistent. Japan allowed it, and other countries like Australia or Africa might still. In Europe, it would surely be possible if organizations didn’t blindly copy the American system. In France, the priority is to train young elites in France until high school, then send the best to American university systems. The chances of finding a player like Ohtani in France seem almost impossible. Each prospect will be shaped by the emerging specialization in France and then confirmed by the American system.
Of course, questioning a well-oiled and universally approved system to find a rare gem like Ohtani isn’t very feasible. Even if we, as spectators, love these kinds of stories. France will need to produce exceptional pitchers, which is already happening, and then elite hitters, which isn’t yet the case. Only then might they produce a two-way player of Ohtani’s caliber. That day will come… or it won’t.
