Every morning last month, just after dawn broke over Tempe, Ariz., a half dozen or so media members from Japan would hike partway up the incline of a small mountain overlooking the players’ parking lot at the Angels’ spring training complex. They set up their video cameras and waited as patiently as bird watchers. The rara avis they sought to glimpse was Shohei Ohtani, the most incredible baseball player on the planet.
Eventually, a familiar SUV would pull into the lot below the lookouts. As soon as Ohtani and his friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, exited the vehicle, video cameras would roll. The walk from his SUV to the door of the clubhouse covered no more than 100 or so feet. As soon as he slipped behind the door, the bird watchers packed up and headed down the incline. That was it. Every day. It is hard to imagine a more pedestrian scene, but because it was Ohtani, it needed to be covered.
Welcome to a new phase in the career of Ohtani. It officially begins Thursday night when Ohtani pitches and bats leadoff for the Angels against Houston on Opening Day at Angel Stadium. The extraordinary is now expected.
