Story 1 //
It's Spring Training 2018.
The Angels signed Shohei just a few months earlier in December of 2017.
There's incredible hype around this sensational talent from Japan.
Everyone is eager to see how he fares in the MLB.
The quantity of media outlets following Shohei during ST 2018 is hard to describe. Everywhere he went, hordes of reporters, photographers, and fans followed.
Photographers were climbing fences, ducking under tarps - anything they could do to get a glimpse of this guy.
I'd been to Big League ST before, but this was unlike anything I'd seen (and would see for the rest of my career).
One morning, I sit down at an empty table for breakfast.
After a few minutes, Shohei and his translator, Ippei, sit down next to me.
We greeted each other.
After some small talk about the food, I asked Ippei how Shohei felt about the media attention.
• Was he overwhelmed?
• Tired of it?
Ippei laughed.
"This is nothing."
Confused, I asked him to clarify.
"It's 10x worse in Japan. This is much easier to deal with."
Speechless, I took another bite of food.
And that's when I realized the magnitude of Shohei's impact.
But if you want to know what Shohei is really like, read the next story
Story 2 //
It's 2022.
I'm serving on the Texas Rangers taxi squad.
We're on the road in Anaheim, playing the Angels.
After catching a few bullpens during the pre-game workout, I caught up with former teammates and coaches.
Hugs, laughs, conversations.
It's important to note that at this point in my career, I'd only caught 1 bullpen of Shohei's.
I'd chatted with him briefly on 3-4 occasions.
Shohei was throwing weighted balls against the outfield wall.
I was ~30 feet from him.
As he turned to do another rep, he spotted me. His eyes grew wide, and a big smile came across his face.
He stopped what he was doing, and we each jogged lightly to meet halfway.
We shared a hug, and he asked how I was.
I did the same.
I can't overstate how insignificant I was to Shohei's career and life, and yet, he treated me with the highest level of respect.
It would have been completely reasonable for him to forget who I was, but he didn't.
From the little time I spent around Shohei, I got the sense that this is how he lives.
Joyfully and respectfully.
As I walk around Japan and see his face plastered EVERYWHERE, I'm even more impressed with his humility and respect.
I might be his biggest fan.
I'm Jack.
I played 7 years of professional baseball for the Angels and Rangers, and now build businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Basically, I just try to do cool stuff.
Doesn't always work out, but it's a good time.
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