Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani says goodbye to yesterday

The Los Angeles Angels latest addition Shohei Ohtani says farewell to his former team, the Fighters, in Japan.

Boys II Men says it best with their 90’s ballad; It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. The task was no more manageable for the (now) Los Angeles Angels pitcher/utility extraordinaire Shohei Ohtani when he recently said goodbye to his former Japenese team, the Nippon Ham Fighters.

In a fun-loving, yet emotional tribute at his final press conference, Ohtani donned his new Los Angeles Angels jersey inside of his former “home’ the Sapporo Dome.

“Long time, no see. I’m Shohei Ohtani. Welcome to my press conference. Please enjoy.”

“He’s a player with ability. He developed on his own, so I tried to stay out of his way. I believe he has a chance to be the best player in the world.”

Ohtani’s best season with the Fighters in Japan was in 2016 — .322/.416/ with 22 home runs, 67 RBI, 65 runs scored, and seven stolen bases, in just 104 contests and 377 plate appearances.

During the same season, Ohtani was flat-out dominate on the mound — 10-4/1.86 ERA/0.96 WHIP/174 K’s/45 BB, while consistently topping out over 100 MPH on the radar gun.

His former manager, Hideki Kuriyama, believes that the “Japenese Babe Ruth” has the potential to be the best player in all of Major League Baseball.

2017 didn’t go the way he thought, battling injuries in the process. Recently, it was revealed that Ohtani suffered a:

First-degree sprain of his right (throwing) ulnar collateral ligament.

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Fortunately for the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani (as of now) will not require any sort of surgery, expected to be ready to go on MLB Opening Day 2018.

Ohtani is projected to shine in the Angels starting rotation, while plugging into their lineup at DH, possibly working his way onto the field, as well.

Shohei Ohtani revealed why he choose the Los Angeles Angeles over the many active pursuers:

“I used the word ‘fate’ and that kind of defies easy explanation. Every single team made a good presentation, so it was a difficult choice. I knew, in the end, it would come down to my own feeling.”

The Angels are feeling pretty good themselves, now with the 1-2 punch of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, as well as the power bat of Justin Upton, while taking pressure off of former MVP Albert Puljos in the process.

Next: Ohtani or Otani? Which is it?

Even though it’s hard to say goodbye, those feelings of sadness are likely to quickly fade for Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels, who are legitimate American League contenders in 2018 and beyond.