TOKYO -- Shohei Ohtani says it didn't take him long to realize he was competing at a much higher level during his first season in Major League Baseball.
Ohtani returned to Japan and held a news conference at the National Press Club, where he spoke at length on his first season with the Los Angeles Angels.
"Everything was different -- the baseball, the culture," Ohtani said Thursday. In the baseball, "I was aware right away of a higher level of power, technique and speed."
Ohtani won American League Rookie of the Year earlier this month despite an elbow injury that disrupted his switch from Japan to the major leagues and likely will prevent him from pitching next year.