Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will be featured on the cover of Sony’s MLB the Show 22 video game, ESPN reports. He is the first Asian athlete to appear on the cover of a sports-centric video game in the United States.
Ohtani won the 2021 American League MVP after a stellar season for the Angels. According to Bleacher Report, Ohtani hit .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs, 100 runs batted in and 26 steals that season.
Ohtani told ESPN, through a translator, that he was excited to be on the cover of the game.
“I was very excited about the possibility and it actually came true,” Ohtani said. “This game has a lot of history. It’s one of the only baseball games that has been out here, so it makes me want to get better on the field and live up to the hype.”
He also told ESPN it was an honor to be the first Asian athlete on the cover of The Show.
“I know I’m sure there’s a lot of Asian people that don’t know me yet,” Ohtani said. “Hopefully by being on the cover of The Show, you get my name out there to those people who don’t know me yet.”
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