Despite moving to the United States and fulfilling his dream of playing in the majors, the Los Angeles Angels' two-way star Shohei Ohtani said Sunday his life has not changed much since leaving Japan.
"I don't really go out so nothing has really changed. All I basically have in mind is playing baseball and doing my best," Ohtani said Sunday, the final day of the first half of the season.
Ohtani, a right-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter, moved to the Angels from the Nippon Ham Fighters over the winter. He has a .283 batting average with seven homers at the plate, and 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA in nine starts on the mound.
The 24-year-old is closing in on Babe Ruth's century-old record of earning 10 wins and hitting 10 homers in the same season, but he says he does not give his results too much thought.
"I don't really care (about the numbers). I just want to see how much I can do in a year," he said. "I think I'm doing a decent job at this point in the season."
The major league rookie admits he had some ups and downs along the way, with one of the biggest setbacks being a pitching elbow injury he sustained in June. But he sees everything as an opportunity to grow as a player.
"Everything here is new to me, so both the good things and bad things are valuable experiences," Ohtani said. "Of course, it's better to have good results. But what's important is how to face a challenge when something bad happens."
Ohtani was cleared to resume hitting and returned to the lineup since coming off the disabled list on July 3, but he has not pitched since June because of a Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament.
The Japanese star hopes he will be able to take the mound again this season following a re-evaluation by team physicians on Thursday, and contribute to the Angels, who are 14 games behind the American League West-leading Houston Astros.
"I think we still have a shot at playing in the postseason. I want to contribute to my team," he said.
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