ARLINGTON, Texas (KTTV) – The baseball world witnessed Shohei Ohtani’s greatness on the international stage during the 2023 World Baseball Classic – but could we see MLB’s unicorn play for the Olympic gold medal?
Baseball’s two-way star says he is down to participate in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
“If it’s possible, I would like to play in the Olympics. Also, knowing the fact that there will be non-baseball fans watching the game as well. So I think it’s going to be really good for the baseball industry,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Monday.
This comes as baseball made a return to the list of Olympic competitions back in 2021. But the Tokyo Games did not feature MLB players.
Will things change in 2028? According to a report from the Associated Press, change is possible.
AP reports MLB commissioner Rob Manfred “remains open” to allowing the league’s biggest stars to participate in the Olympics – specifically for the 2028 Summer Games here in Southern California.
Ohtani said on Monday that he has not approached the MLB Commissioner about letting him play for Samurai Japan in the 2028 Games – should Japan qualify.
“I don’t meet [Manfred] on a casual basis,” Ohtani said through Ireton. “It’s not something that I brought up or had the opportunity to bring up.”
The last international competition that Ohtani was involved in, he helped Samurai Japan beat Team USA for the gold medal in the 2023 WBC. The then-Los Angeles Angels star was named tournament MVP after hitting .435 as a hitter and then pitched to a 1.86 ERA and struck out 11 – one of the batters he struck out being Mike Trout – in the bottom of the ninth with two outs – to clinch Japan’s third tournament title.
