The future of Ohtani is uncertain but the rumors say that his possible destiny is in Canada, where he could meet an older friend (Yusei KIkuchi).
Both grew in rural locations of Japan and went to the same high school (Hanamaki Higashi) in different years.
Same to other high schools of Tohoku’s region, Hanamaki Higashi has never won a national championship and all their baseball players have to sleep in the dormitories of the campus and work as a toilet cleaner.
About his experience of cleaning toilets, Kikuchi said: “If you go to a good hotel, bathrooms are important. If you see the bathroom you can see the value of the place and the purpose which it was created. The bathroom is the most important thing in a place same as the mount is on a field”.
Also, he mentioned that the bathroom changed his way to see the world and fight the problems.
In high school, Kikuchi helped his team to arrive to the semifinal of one of the most prestigious competitions of the summers. This achievement capted the attention of the MLB teams. However, he decided to stay in Japan an play with the Seibu Lions.
When Kikuchi was graduating of high school, Ohtani entered. When Ohtani was interviewed he said; “I don’t have the feeling of being on the same high school as him but is a player that I admire.
In high school, both used the number #17 that Ohtani also uses in MLB.
Ohtani also worked as a toilet cleaner and was searched by multiple MLB teams. As Kikuchi, he opted to play in Japan with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.
During his time in Japan they played two matches between them. In his rookie season in 2013, Ohtani went with 2 K. His revenge against Kikuchi arrived four years later where he had a double and a H in 3 AB.
The historic between them came in 2019 when the Angels faced the Mariners. In that game, Ohtani scored a HR in the fourth inning against Kikuchi.