'Shotime' named Japan buzzword of year to honour baseball star Shohei Ohtani

FILE PHOTO: Japanese two-way baseball player for the Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani attends a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan November 15, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - "Shotime", as baseball star Shohei Ohtani is known in the United States, was named on Wednesday Japanese "buzzword of the year" for 2021 after he won one of U.S. baseball's top awards and lit up his home country that has been in the pandemic's shadow.

Ohtani, often compared to baseball legend Babe Ruth because of his ability to pitch and hit at an elite level, last month won the Most Valuable Player award for Major League Baseball's American League, becoming the second Japanese player to do so.