As soon as Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani debuted with the L.A. Angels in 2018, he was an instant showstopper, possessing a transformative blend of two-way power, arm strength, and speed never-before-seen in our National Pastime. After earning 2021 American League MVP honors, he was arguably better in 2022 with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs while going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings. Then came 2023. “Shotime” led the AL in homers (44), OBP and Slug %; he was fantastic on the rubber as well with double-digit wins [for a bad Angels team], a 3.14 ERA and 167 K’s in 132 IP. A second unanimous MVP award followed. If not for Aaron Judge breaking Roger Maris’ AL single-season HR record in 2022, Ohtani would have easily won it three years in a row.
Presented here is the road jersey Shohei during his second MVP campaign on Jackie Robinson Day (April 15, 2023) at Fenway Park. After blasting two bombs in the previous year’s annual Jackie game, Ohtani served as the DH and went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and run scored as the Halos fell to the Red Sox, 9-7. The gray Nike button jersey in size 48 has a tri-tone tackle twill Angels logo across the chest. The lower left tail shows MLB Authentic Collection tagging above a secondary sticker tag with both Fanatics and MLB Authentication holograms affixed. On the reverse is the immortal number 42 proudly featured on all player jerseys on Jackie Robinson Day in his honor. Ohtani has signed his name in Kanji (Japanese writing adapted from logographic Chinese characters) on the ‘2’ in bold silver Sharpie with “GU 4.15.23” and “2023 AL MVP” inscribed. This is the only game used jersey from the 2023 season Ohtani has signed. (Apparently, Shohei will no longer be signing in Kanji.) The left sleeve bears an embroidered Angels logo, while the right sleeve has the team’s FBM [Foundation Building Materials] jersey sponsor patch. Solid wear is evident from light dirt staining on the shoulders and an unwashed aroma, along with internal laundry tagging with two team inspection stickers.
In addition to the MLB (YP704728) and Fanatics (WN55914092) certifications for the shirt’s game use, signature and inscriptions, Davious Sports has conclusively photo-matched this Ohtani jersey to the 4/15/23 game in Boston. With blue tackle twill numbers on the back, the jersey displays like a Dodgers road gamer – convenient for the next owner now that Ohtani will be wearing Dodger blue for the next decade.