3 baseball stars who are good friends with Shohei Ohtani ft. Mike Trout
Shohei Ohtani has spent seven seasons in the MLB and along the way, he has not only earned respect from his peers but also made some friends. Some have been outspoken about their bond with the 2x MVP. Here's looking at three stars who are known to be good friends with Shohei:
#1 Teoscar Hernandez
Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani have bonded in the one year they have spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers so far. The friendship started when the former Blue Jays player signed with LA in late January. Shohei sent him a personal message on Instagram in English to welcome his new teammate.
Even though the Japanese-Spanish language barrier persisted between the pair, the two have chosen to not have Ohtani's Will Ireton translate their broken English. Instead, Shohei was requested by his outfielder teammate to teach him a phrase in his native language each day.
Teo was also one of the first to see Ohtani's playful side in the Dodgers clubhouse. With his contract now expired, Hernandez would hope for a reunion with the Dodgers to continue sharing the dugout with his close friend.
#2 Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Someone with whom Shohei didn't need any translation was his countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Soon after Shohei signed with the LA Blue, Yamamoto followed suit.
Their friendship was caught on camera for the first time when Shohei was seen imitating Yamamoto's pitching action during an early Spring Training game.
Unlike others he has befriended in the States, Shohei and Yamamoto had been friends before joining forces in Los Angeles. The two had shared the clubhouse during Japan's World Baseball Classic campaign.
Shohei has often been spotted appreciating Yamamoto after his starts for the Dodgers. He also compared Yamamoto to a cub after his World Series Game 2 start against the Yankees.
#3 Mike Trout
Arguably two of the greatest players of all time, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were known to have immense mutual respect as teammates during their time with the Angels. Even after 'the Sho' made the crosstown move to join the Dodgers, Trout kept in contact with him.
In an interview in April this year, Trout had even accepted that he is still maintaining his friendship with Shohei. He also said that the two-way prowess that Shohei brought to the Halos was irreplaceable.
“You can’t replace a guy like him," Trout had said. "When he’s pitching and hitting, it’s hard to replace."
Unfortunately, the only time the two were on the field together in 2024 was during Spring Training. They would hope to meet soon on opposing ends in the future.