Shohei Ohtani inks historic deal for 2023 season

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Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels agreed on $30 million contract for the 2023 season.

The deal marks the largest salary ever for an arbitration-eligible player, surpassing Mookie Betts' $27 million for the 2020 season (which was reduced due to the pandemic-shortened season).

His $24.5 million raise is also the largest ever from one year to the next. Ohtani's 2022 salary was $5.5 million.

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Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 29, 2022, in Anaheim, California.  (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Ohtani has more than lived up to the expectations that were set for him when he first joined the major leagues in 2018. 

Dubbed the "Japanese Babe Ruth" when he came over, he was named the American League Rookie of the Year with a .285 average and .925 OPS while pitching to a 3.31 ERA and striking out 11.0 batters per nine innings. He became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs and strike out at least 60 batters in the same season.

That was already impressive itself, but that was just taste of what was to come.

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2019 season, which kept him from pitching that year. He suffered another injury in 2020 that limited him to pitching in just 1.2 innings.

Shohei Ohtani, #17, of the Los Angeles Angels, hits a two-run home run in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 05, 2022, in Anaheim, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

ANGELS’ SHOHEI OHTANI TAKES NO-HIT BID INTO 8TH INNING,