The Layup Drill

By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. In this month’s column, we look at two of the greatest baseball players of all time and one on the rise, a big money earner, and a doctor with a fighting heart.

Ohtani MVP again

Shohei Ohtani is moving toward GOAT (Greatest of All Time) status as he became the only player in Major League Baseball (MLB) to be a unanimous choice for Most Valuable Player for a third time. This time, he won the award playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was his best offensive year of his career, as he hit 50 home runs and stole 50 bases to become the only member of the 50-50 club. He became the second player to win the MVP award in the American League and the National League. He also became the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since 2012-2013.

FILE – Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani smiles during a baseball game on Sept. 29, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ichiro on ballot for Baseball Hall of Fame

Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has a chance to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame this year. 2025 will be the first year of his eligibility to be voted into the Hall of Fame. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BWAA) nominates a final list of players to be voted on for election into the Hall of Fame. Of the list of nominees, a supermajority (75%) of BWAA-eligible writers must vote on the player for them to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Ichiro, along with fellow Seattle Mariner Felix Hernandez were on the ballot for the first time this year. Only one player in the history of MLB, Mariano Rivera, has received a unanimous vote into the Hall of Fame on their first nomination. Notably, former Mariners great Ken Griffey, Jr. received 99.3% of the vote with 437 of 440 ballots filled voting for Griffey. Ichiro has a chance to be the second player to receive 100% of the votes. The results of the vote will be announced on Jan. 21, 2025.

FILE – Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki heads to first base after hitting a single during a baseball game in March 2018, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Roki Sasaki latest to enter MLB

23-year-old Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki is looking for a major league team. Sasaki, who plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League, is being granted the opportunity to play in MLB next year. The process gives Sasaki’s team 20% of the salary promised to Sasaki as compensation for their loss. Sasaki is younger than most Japanese baseball players that seek to play in MLB. Rumors point to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a team that he could sign with due to the fact that it currently has two top Japanese stars in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.

Known for having the best fastball in the NPB, Sasaki would be a big free agent signing for any team in MLB.

Roki Sasaki throws a pitch in a baseball game in Chiba, near Tokyo on Aug. 30, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Chinese “Doctor” debuts with UFC

30-year-old Ming Shi made her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut with an impressive head kick knockout of Xiaocon Feng at a UFC event in Macau this past November. For her fight, she earned an extra $50,000 “Performance Bonus” for her fight. In post-fight interviews, she revealed that her parents did not know that she was a mixed martial arts fighter. While some reports indicated that her co-workers didn’t know of her second job, the rumor was debunked noting that her co-workers know she is a fighter but allow for her to keep a low profile at her “day” job. Nicknamed “Doctor” for being a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, she is an acupuncturist in the Yunnan Province in China. She indicated that she will be focusing more of her time on MMA while she can.

Ming Shi

Thai golfer wins biggest prize in women’s golf history

21-year-old LPGA tour golfer Jeeno Thitikul won the largest prize in women’s golf history last month when she won the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. She came from behind to win the event and a $4 million prize, which is the biggest prize money in women’s golf history. It was part of an $11 million pot offered by CME Group. The runner-up received $1 million.

Thitikul also won a $1 million bonus for her performance during a special sponsored hole during the week. In total, she earned $5 million for the week.

The native of Thailand leads the 2024 LPGA money list as a result of her good play. It was her fourth tournament win of the year.