Shohei Ohtani of the Major League Baseball Angels visited the baseball team facility in Arizona on the 13th to check his physical condition.
Otani will start his fifth year in the major leagues at the camp starting on the 14th.
In this season's Major League Baseball, the start of the camp has been delayed by about a month due to the difficult labor-management negotiations with the players' association, and it will start on the 14th in Angels.
On the 13th, Otani visited the baseball team facility in Tempe, Arizona, checked his physical condition through health examinations and physical measurements, and prepared for the camp from the next day.
I raised my right hand to respond to the call from the fans who were waiting for Otani at the stadium, and stayed for about two hours.
Otani said he continued training in Arizona during the "lockout" when the team's facilities were blocked due to difficult labor-management negotiations, and catcher Stassy said, "I practiced pitching several times. I received the ball, but it was a wonderful finish. "
In addition, Angels coach Maddon said about Otani this season, "There is no big change. I hope that it will reproduce the performance of last season," and put a burden on Otani. Taking this into consideration, he revealed his intention to form a starting rotation with six people, one more than the other teams this season.
Regarding the opening pitcher who is attracting attention, he only said, "First, talk to the players." I'd like to check with the major leagues to see if I can do it. "
Mr. Mizuhara, an exclusive interpreter, temporarily quit the team staff
The team revealed that Ippei Mizuhara, Otani's exclusive interpreter, had temporarily resigned from the team during the lockout period.
During the lockout period, which lasted about three months from December last year to the 10th of this month, the team's facilities were closed and no contact or contact between staff and athletes was allowed.
According to the team, Mr. Mizuhara temporarily quit the team staff to support Otani's training even during the lockout, so a new labor-management agreement was agreed and the lockout ended. It means that he returned to work later.
After serving as an interpreter for foreign players in professional baseball and Nippon-Ham, Mr. Mizuhara has been an exclusive interpreter for Otani in the Angels since 2018.
Not only as an interpreter, but also as an opponent for Otani's catch ball, he has always acted together, and at the press conference in November last year, Otani was also a supporter when he overcame the hardships. Ippei-san "was named.