Although the dream of watching two-way Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani play for the good guys in your home town died for most fans when he signed on in Anaheim, even the Angels have to wait until spring to see their new shiny toy in action against real Major Leaguers.
But if you’re looking for just a taste of what that action might look like, here’s Ohtani pitching against a bunch of high-quality Major Leaguers back during the MLB-Japanese All-Star series in 2014:
You can see the full roster here, but make no mistake: there are some serious bats in that lineup (Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano, Carlos Santana, Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, Yasiel Puig, and others).
Ohtani didn’t exactly mow them all down – Altuve (naturally) rips a single to right in the first at-bat of this video – but Ohtani was also just 20 years old at the time and still looks NASTY throughout. I can’t wait to see him play in MLB this season.