Australian pitcher shares funny video going through strikeout of Ohtani

Japan's two-way player Shohei Ohtani. Kyodo News

Australian pitcher shares funny video going through his strikeout of Shohei Ohtani

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 3/23/23

The World Baseball Classic had a Hollywood ending with Shohei Ohtani striking out his Los Angeles Angels teammate, Mike Trout, to end the championship game and give Japan the world title. It was the perfect ending to a great tournament.

But it was also Ohtani's matchups with some of the lesser known players around the world that also made it great. Australia pitcher Todd Van Steensel created a TikTok video walking everybody through his thought process as he struck out Ohtani in their matchup early in the tournament.

Absolutely nobody asked for this, but this is a fun little breakdown of what went through my head as I faced Shohei Ohtani in the WBC

My main thought was “If he hits a home run, he’s supposed to. He’s the best… but if you get him out, that’s a fun memory to have forever” pic.twitter.com/FAOF76SHh7
— Todd Van Steensel (@toddvs35) March 23, 2023

The 31-year-old Van Steensel has seven years of experience in the minor leagues in the United States but spent most of his baseball career playing internationally, including in the Australian baseball league. Getting the opportunity to face the best player in baseball, and strike him out, is clearly the peak of his career.

The WBC gave players like Van Steensel the opportunity to go against the game's best.

Ohtani seems to be the common denominator in their incredible experience.

A Czech Republic pitcher who is an electrician by day also had an opportunity to strikeout Ohtani, with the major league superstar asking to meet him and get a signed jersey from him the next day.

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