2017 was a wild year for baseball. Right from the beginning, the World Baseball Classic excited everyone. Watching one’s favorite sport on an international level was an introduction to talented names from all across the globe. One such ballplayer everyone wanted to witness was Shohei Ohtani of the Nippon Ham Fighters. Before he faced off against teammate Mike Trout in 2023, he was scheduled to represent Japan in 2017.

2016 had been the first full season that Ohtani had played as both a pitcher and hitter in Japan’s major leagues. Unused to that level of work, his body was clearly still adjusting. The tales of his talent had reached far and wide and everyone wanted to witness the unicorn in action. But an injury derailed him.

Persistent Ankle Injury Left Shohei Ohtani and Fans Equally Disappointed

Before he could journey to the US to become an MLB player, Sho-time made it to the States for the World Baseball Classic in 2017. Ohtani had been as excited as fans to showcase his abilities and represent his country. He had been training with Yu Darvish to be prepared for a global stage when an ankle injury caused him serious trouble. Jeff Fletcher, in his book Sho–Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played, touches upon the incident.

“Ohtani had been training over the winter—again with Darvish—in hopes of playing in the 2017 WBC. But he had been bothered by a nagging ankle injury suffered when he stepped on first base awkwardly during the Japan Series in October,” Fletcher writes on page 37. “Finally, just weeks before the WBC opened, Ohtani was taken off the Japan roster, much to the disappointment of Ohtani and fans all over the world who had hoped to see him play on an international stage.”

It had gutted Ohtani as much as baseball lovers. “‘I feel sorry for not being able to play in the WBC,’ Ohtani said after the decision. ‘Originally I thought I was going to get better and I was trying to get ready. But I couldn’t.’”

Six Years Later, Ohtani Gave a Show Worth Watching

March 21st, 2023, was one of the most-watched baseball games in the history of the sport. Japan had been on a rampage, defeating every single opponent that came their way. The country had already been famous for being the only one to have won multiple WBC championships in the past. In 2023, they made history once again.