After just five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani has become one of the most beloved players in the MLB. Regardless of what team you support, every fan respects the ability and uniqueness that Ohtani brings to baseball. He has also showcased his fun-loving personality, which has only endeared him to baseball fans around the world.The title 'face of baseball' is an unofficial one, usually assigned to the most popular player. While there are certainly other contenders in the league, Ohtani currently holds the title.Rob Friedman, known as the Pitching Ninja on Twitter, named Ohtani the winner of the '2022 PitchingNinja Face Of Baseball Award'. He posted a highlight video of Shohei Ohtani's memorable on-field moments in 2022Rob Friedman@PitchingNinja2022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 28784862022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. 🏆Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 😀 https://t.co/tRK6ZwmhSWThese moments of authenticity are not always commonplace in the MLB. Many players are reserved on the field. We only see glimpses of their personalities. Ohtani bucks that trend and shows how much fun he is having every game. Fans are clearly appreciative of Shohei Ohtani's on-field antics.Eric Willuweit@eswillow72This guy can't get promoted enough. He's a great player and entertaining as hell. More fun, please! twitter.com/PitchingNinja/…Rob Friedman@PitchingNinja2022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 14892022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. 🏆Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 😀 https://t.co/tRK6ZwmhSWThis guy can't get promoted enough. He's a great player and entertaining as hell. More fun, please! twitter.com/PitchingNinja/…Jamie Cessford 🐇@jamiecessfordI don’t know if there is a more lovable athlete on earth twitter.com/pitchingninja/…Rob Friedman@PitchingNinja2022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 14892022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. 🏆Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 😀 https://t.co/tRK6ZwmhSWI don’t know if there is a more lovable athlete on earth twitter.com/pitchingninja/…kaorin@kaorin1484@PitchingNinja I can watch this forever and ever lolThank you Rob for all the quality content of Shohei!!9@PitchingNinja I can watch this forever and ever lolThank you Rob for all the quality content of Shohei!!Not only is Ohtani one of the top players in the league, he is also a fan favorite. The MLB has been desperately searching for a superstar that they can market worldwide. They found it in Ohtani. After his MVP season in 2021, he became a household name. His popularity is still growing.Kay Kay Kay@kaylanurul@PitchingNinja Who wouldn’t fall for Shohei, the cutest human bobblehead? 618@PitchingNinja Who wouldn’t fall for Shohei, the cutest human bobblehead? 😍😍https://t.co/puitLdMah2cody morrison@codered39@PitchingNinja He’s an absolute beaut of a human@PitchingNinja He’s an absolute beaut of a humanThe Card Walrus 🎴🎴@RasslinWalrus@PitchingNinja Seems like such a chill dude.@PitchingNinja Seems like such a chill dude.It is somewhat ironic that he is a teammate of Mike Trout, who is arguably the best player of his generation. Despite his incredible skillset, Trout has never reached Ohtani's popularity.MARIA マリア@TweetleDuh13@PitchingNinja This is why I watch every crappy Angels game.5@PitchingNinja This is why I watch every crappy Angels game.Dee@jstcallmeDeeI may be a Blue Jay’s fan but how can I not love me some Shohei?!!! twitter.com/pitchingninja/…Rob Friedman@PitchingNinja2022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 29054892022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. 🏆Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 😀 https://t.co/tRK6ZwmhSWI may be a Blue Jay’s fan but how can I not love me some Shohei?!!! twitter.com/pitchingninja/…Neil Cole@OldenGloveSometimes I think I'm too old to have a sporting hero – and then Shohei makes me forget about that. twitter.com/PitchingNinja/…Rob Friedman@PitchingNinja2022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 312022 PitchingNinja Face of Baseball Award. 🏆Winner: Shohei Ohtani.Nearly 4 minutes of Shohei's faces from the 2022 season. 😀 https://t.co/tRK6ZwmhSWSometimes I think I'm too old to have a sporting hero – and then Shohei makes me forget about that. twitter.com/PitchingNinja/…The MLB had been waiting for a Shohei Ohtani-type player to emerge for many years. His ability to pitch and hit at an exceptional level is not something we've seen since the early 1900's. It will be interesting to see how the league capitalizes on his starpower.Shohei Ohtani has already done so much in his career, but needs to add a championshipLos Angeles Angels v Texas RangersIn pro sports, the most common way to judge a star player's legacy is to count how many championships they've won. Shohei Ohtani hasn't reached the playoffs in his MLB career. The Angels haven't qualified for the postseason since 2011. Something's got to give. Maybe 2023 is the year those streaks are broken.Seeing how star players perform when the stakes are high is one of the great pleasures of watching sports. Hopefully we get to see Ohtani play meaningful baseball before all is said and done.