Shintaro Fujinami and Shohei Ohtani, both of whom were the same age in 1994, were selected as outstanding talents who would lead the Japanese pro baseball in the future since they were in high school. Up until high school days, it was difficult to distinguish between the two players. In terms of their current performance, not a few critics supported Fujinami more than Ohtani.

Both players had physique that they could expect to break the limits of Asian players, and had a dream of throwing fast balls over 150 kilometers per hour without hesitation. However, after joining the professional league, the joys and sorrows of the two players gradually began to diverge. While Ohtani began to realize his dream of pitching and concurrent employment, Fujimi's graph went downhill due to injuries caused by overwork. The gap between the two players began to widen. The same was true of the public's favorability.

Ohtani's success story is well known. He chose to challenge himself to the Major League ahead of the 2018 season. At the time, he was an international amateur player as he was under 25 years old. It was difficult to earn a large annual salary due to the huge bonus pool. However, Ohtani boldly kicked off his seat and got up. He made his Major League debut wearing the LA Angels uniform amid fierce competition to recruit players, which made it a joke that all 30 Major League teams rushed in.

Although there were some tough times when he had elbow surgery in 2018, he made a big achievement that he thought would not be possible in the Major League from 2021. He is an ace pitcher who can win 10 games and a home run king who can hit 40 home runs as a batter. As a result, he became an icon representing the league by winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 2021 and 2023.

On the contrary, Fujimi could hardly escape from the swamp. He was treated like a troublemaker even in Hanshin, and his gaze was not good. After barely getting out of the swamp of injury, he regained his old speed, but it was hardly considered as the best performance even in Japan. Ahead of the 2023 season, he signed a one-year contract with Oakland and challenged to the Major League, but soon faced limitations.

Fujimi started this season as a starting rotation member of the Oakland Athletics, but was demoted to the bullpen after a lackluster performance. He played in 34 games (seven starts) with an ERA of 8.57. His performance got better after the Baltimore Orioles acquired him in a trade. However, his earned run average (4.85) after the move, which is said to have improved, is actually lower than the average in the Major League.

Both players became free agents after the season. As expected, they had mixed feelings. Ohtani signed a 10-year contract worth 700 million U.S. dollars with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He easily broke the record of Mike Trout (12 years worth of 426 million dollars), the highest in Major League history, and became the first 700 million dollar gold medalist in terms of total amount in global sports history. 안전 토토사이트

On the contrary, Fujimi is still looking for a job in the Major League. It is so quiet that it is not even mentioned in the local media. Last year's performance was not good that it was struggling in the market. If the remaining senior bullpen pitchers in the market leave, the market will open in earnest, but there is no guarantee of a major league guarantee contract. The two rivals, which excited Japan 10 years ago, are already so different.