Shohei Ohtani will compete in Home Run Derby

The most exciting player in baseball will compete in baseball’s most exciting competition. On Friday, Shohei Ohtani announced that he’ll be competing in the 2021 Home Run Derby in Colorado next month.

Here’s what he posted to Instagram.

Ohtani will be making history, as he’ll become the first Japanese-born player to participate in the competition.

He’ll also be the seventh Angels player to ever compete in the competition. He’ll join:

• 1986 - Wally Joyner (co-winner)
• 2001 – Troy Glaus
• 2003 – Garret Anderson (winner)
• 2007 – Vladimir Guerrero (winner)
• 2012 – Mark Trumbo
• 2015 – Albert Pujols

Per the Angels PR, the Angels are tied for the second-most wins in Derby history. The Yankees lead the way with four winners.

This actually won’t be his first home run derby he’s competed in. Back in 2016, Ohtani was the winner of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Home Run Derby before Game 1 of the All-Star Series. The next day, he earned Most Valuable Player honors in Game 2 of the All-Star Series as the DH for the Pacific League.