"Captain Kangaroo!" - When Shohei Ohtani gave preference to local fast food over renowned American joint
Since signing a record-setting $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, everyone wants to know everything about Shohei Ohtani. This goes beyond baseball and "60 Minutes" had a 2017 interview with Ohtani where they asked him an interesting ice-breaker question.
Interviewer Jon Wertheim asked Ohtani which local fast food he preferred between In-N-Out Burger and Captain Kangaroo Burger. Ohtani responded:
"Captain Kangaroo!"
The interview took place before Shohei Ohtani had made his way to the MLB and at the time, he described his Major League future as an "if," rather than a "when":
"That's a tough one. I mean, nothing is for certain so I guess it's 'if.'"
He also discussed the players he looked forward to facing the most, namely Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw.
Flash forward to now and Ohtani is a megastar after putting in multiple incredible seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and will suit up for their cross-town rivals in 2024.
Shohei Ohtani's interpreter always believed in the two-way phenom
Shohei Ohtani's agent, Mizuhara Ippei, told Mark Gubicza in 2018 that he used to get a lot of texts from people in Japan asking about how the player was doing, especially on game day.
While speaking to Gubicza, Ippei also discussed Ohtani's talent and how he knew the two-way star had what it takes to make it big in the MLB:
"I watched him for five years, so I knew he had the talent," Ippei added. "He might have struggled during spring training and everyone was kind of ripping him, but I knew he had what it takes. I didn't think it was going to be this good, but I knew eventually he was going to be able to adapt and perform well."
Now at the very pinnacle of the MLB, Ohtani will be under pressure to deliver multiple World Series wins to the Dodgers. Given the size of his contract, his performances will be heavily scrutinized and he will be hoping to hit the ground running on Opening Day.