After two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani earned the 2021 American League MVP in unanimous fashion, the only question coming into the 2022 season was could he repeat his historic achievements. The answer was a resounding yes. He batted .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs at the plate, while going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings on the mound. He finished the season 10th in OPS, 11th in home runs, fifth in ERA, and sixth in strikeouts. Along the way, he became the first player in MLB history to qualify for both the batting title and ERA title in the same season. Simply put, Ohtani may have been even better in 2022 than he was when he won the MVP in 2021. He continued to do things that had never been done before in the long and illustrious history of baseball and may never be done again.
Offered here is the jersey Shotime wore during Jackie Robinson day in 2022. He put on a highlight-reel performance in that game on April 15, 2022, smacking his first two home runs of the season to help lead the Angels to a 9-6 win over the Texas Rangers. As he did on a few occasions this past season, Ohtani led off the ballgame with a bomb, taking the first pitch he saw from Rangers pitcher Matt Bush out of the yard. With the Angels down 3-6 in the fifth inning, Ohtani helped his squad get back into the game with a two-run blast to cut the lead to 5-6 at that point.
The Nike branded jersey supplies a tri-tone tackle twill "Angels 17" on the chest. The lower left front tail shows MLB authentic collection Nike tagging above a secondary tag with both Fanatics and MLB Authentication affixed to it. On the reverse of the jersey “42" is found, as all players wear on Jackie Robinson Day in his honor. Shotime signed the number "4" with his Japanese Kanji autograph. Inscribed on the number “2” is “GAME USED,” “JACKIE ROBINSON ’22,” and his stats from the game “2-5, 2 HR’S, 3 RBI’s.” The left sleeve bears a franchise logo patch, and the right sleeve bears a Jackie Robinson patch. The jersey has the distinct smell of a hard-fought victory, and also has evident use in dirt stains on the front and back.
Fanatics Authentic AA0128945, MLB Authentic VS917428, and accompanied by a Beckett LOA for the autograph.