Even for a future Hall of Famer, what Shohei Ohtani does is inexplicable.
Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday morning alongside several other members of Team USA ahead of the World Baseball Classic, and he was full of praise for Ohtani.
Given his insight into one of Samurai Japan’s biggest stars, Kershaw was asked if he has any inside information to share with the American squad. He didn’t have any secrets to share, but he was full of praise for the two-way superstar.
“With Shohei, he’s got to pitch and he’s got to hit, and he’s a monster in the weight room, and he’s so fast, all these things,” Kershaw said. “So it’s amazing what Shohei does. And as far as secrets, I don’t know how he does it. I have no idea. I’ve watched him for a few years, still have no idea how he does it. So it’ll be fun if we get to face them for sure, and it’ll be a tough matchup. But that’s a pretty good group of guys in there, and I’m excited to watch that.”
When pressed by McAfee, Kershaw offered only “God-given talent” and hard work as the secrets to Ohtani’s success.
“You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for how he takes care of himself to be able to pitch and hit and stay healthy, but I don’t know how he does it,” he said.
Kershaw Compares Ohtani in Japan to Beatlemania
Kershaw may not have had any secrets to reveal, but he did offer some insight into the Ohtani most fans and the media don’t usually get to see when McAfee asked him how Ohtani is “amongst the boys.”
“He’s great. He’s great. He’s funny. He speaks a lot of English, which I don’t know if he lets on to the media too much. But Shohei’s great, and he’s been a great addition to the clubhouse,” he said.
He’s been able to build that positive rapport with his teammates despite overwhelming attention from Japanese fans and media.
“He does a great job,” Kershaw said. “I think with the media circus that follows him everywhere and all the Japanese reporters that are in LA, like, as a team, we don’t see that. He does such a good job of handling all that and still being a good teammate and still playing really well. So, like I said, it all bakes into the formula … I don’t know how he does everything that he does, because he literally does have a country watching him every second of the day. We went to Tokyo last year, we opened up Opening Day in Tokyo last year and that was wild. I think it was probably like what the Beatles were. It’s kind of like that’s what I would experience, just being around Shohei and being on the Dodgers. That was once in a lifetime to see him in Tokyo last year.”
Despite the adoration for his former teammate, Kershaw doesn’t plan to take it easy on Ohtani in the WBC.
When asked his mindset, Kershaw had only one goal: “Beat him.”
