The President of Mexico, known as an avid baseball fan, praised Shohei Ohtani (29), a baseball genius who doubles as a pitcher, who signed the highest-paid contract in history with the Los Angeles (LA) Dodgers of the American Professional Baseball Major League. The need for support for sports players was emphasized.At the end of a regular press conference held for about 2 hours and 20 minutes on the morning of the 19th (local time), Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador displayed a photo of Otani wearing the Japanese national team uniform on the screen and said, “This Japanese player has spent 700 million dollars over 10 years with the Dodgers. “He is a very special case, playing not only as a hitter but also as a pitcher,” he said.The Mexican president described Ohtani as “phenomenal” and added, “I also remember him hitting a double against us in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC).”n the 2023 WBC semifinal against Mexico in which he played for the Japanese national team last March, Ohtani came out as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 9th inning and hit a double, setting the stage for a 6-5 come-from-behind victory. He also ‘bragged’ that he had recently received a uniform signed by Ohtani.
This is not the first time that the Mexican president, who claims to be a ‘baseball fanatic,’ mentioned baseball during a press conference.When Mexico defeated the United States 11 to 5 in the second game of the first round of the WBC Group C last March, he played the game highlights on the screen in the press conference room in the presidential palace and said, “Let’s congratulate our players who beat the United States.”Since taking office in 2018, the government has been sparing no support for baseball with the logic of “protecting youth from the temptation of drug gangs.”Thanks to this, the Mexican League (LMB) has increased from the existing 16 teams to 18 teams starting in the 2021 season, and the stadium facilities have been significantly upgraded.The President of Mexico said, “All the efforts of today’s athletes and their efforts to adhere to discipline should be taken as a worthy example (for the people),” and emphasized the need for financial support, such as allocating a budget worth 500 million pesos (38.1 billion won) every year.On this day, the Mexican government held a ceremony to award the National Sports Award and 스포츠토토존 give encouragement money