Otani decides to join LA Angels

December 9, 2017

Los Angeles- Japanese professional baseball star Shohei Otani, 23, has decided to join the Los Angeles Angels, his agent announced Friday.

"While there has been much speculation about what would drive Shohei's decision, what mattered to him most wasn't market size, time zone, or league, but that he felt a true bond with the Angels," Nez Balelo, Otani's agent, said in a statement.

"He sees this as the best environment to develop and reach the next level and attain his career goals," the statement added.

The Japanese two-way star with strong pitching and slugging skills was posted on Dec. 1 for transfer to a U.S. major league team by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, a Japanese professional baseball club in the Pacific League. The deadline for him to pick a new team was Dec. 22.

After graduating from Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Otani joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters, based in Sapporo in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, in 2012.

Otani became the first Japanese player named to the Pacific League's Best Nine team as both pitcher and designated hitter in the 2016 season, in which he recorded 10 victories and hit 22 home runs.

Former slugger Hideki Matsui is among the Japanese professional baseball players who have played for the Angels, based in Anaheim. Jiji Press