Main League Baseball (MLB) celebrity Shohei Ohtani struck out his fellow Angels teammate Mike Trout within the backside of the ninth inning Tuesday evening to offer Japan the 2023 World Baseball Basic win over Staff USA.
The pitching (and hitting) sensation additionally received the event’s MVP award, but it surely is not the one title Ohtani received over the course of the two-week event.
Ohtani, 28, reportedly gained two million Instagram followers in simply 14 days, incomes him the crown for the most followers on the platform of all MLB gamers. Coincidentally, the No. 2 MLB participant on the platform is Trout — with about half as many followers.
Best Sho on Earth! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/pPzY1QGijN
— MLB (@MLB) March 22, 2023
In response to The Sports activities Every day, Ohtani got here into the World Baseball Basic with round 1.7 million followers on Instagram. Earlier than Japan took on Staff USA for the ultimate recreation, that quantity was as much as 4.1 million followers, a rise of 141%. (He is now as much as 4.5 million.)
Ohtani joined the Angels in 2018 and received the American League Rookie of the Yr in his first MLB season. USA Immediately notes that the star has by no means performed within the MLB postseason since becoming a member of the league. In Japan, he performed for the Nippon-Ham Fighters from 2013 to 2017, the place he was a five-time All-Star and Japan Collection Champion in 2016.
The 2023 World Baseball Basic broke each attendance and rankings information, in line with Entrance Workplace Sports activities. The primary spherical alone noticed 1.01 million followers in attendance — that is a 98% improve from 2017, the outlet reviews.
