Watch: Shohei Ohtani throws a blazing 100 mile per hour pitch in high school 

Shohei Ohtani is a household name stateside right now. The reigning American League MVP had a season for the ages last year that can only be comparable to the legendary Babe Ruth. It is rare for a player to be an ace on both the mound and at the plate in the MLB, and Ohtani, so far, has done both.

Ohtani, of course, first honed his craft in his native Japan. He was born in Ōshū, Iwate Prefecture and the baseball has been in the family roots. His father Toru and older brother Ryuta played in the Japanese Industrial League.

He was known back home as a yakyū shōnen or a child that lives, eats, and breathes baseball. Young Shohei started playing baseball at an early age. He played in just his second year of elementary school and was mentored by his father.

Shohei Ohtani's stick continued to rise and was a sought-after prospect, attracting offers from high school teams from Osaka and Yokohama, two of the biggest cities in Japan. He instead chose to stay at Hanamaki Higashi High School in his home prefecture of Iwate.

This is where Ohtani's road to stardom began. In the Summer Koshien (National High School Baseball Championship Tournament in Japan), Shohei Ohtani put everyone on notice when he hurled a 160 kph or 100 mph fastball as a 18-year-old high schooler.

Coincidentally, Yusei Kikuchi, who was idolized by Ohtani, also attended the same high school and competed in both swimming in baseball.

Shohei Ohtani's career to the majors

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Introduce Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani originally expressed his desire to play directly in MLB after his high school career ended. The Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers expressed their interest in the young phenom.

He ultimately signed with Nippon Professional Baseball's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters after intense negotiations. The biggest factor in Ohtani's decision was that Hokkaido allowed him to play as a two-way player. The Dodgers, whom he originally pegged as the frontrunner in the MLB pursuit, weren't prepared for him to play both roles.

He spent four years with the Nippon-Ham Fighters garnering a Japan Series championship, a Pacific League MVP, two Japan Professional Sports Grand Prizes, and was selected to five NPB All-Star teams.

On December 8, 2017, it was revealed that Ohtani had signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He signed a six-year deal that amounted to almost $200 million and the rest, as they say—is history.