"Learning Japanese to speak with Otani" This is a great fanaticism, acquiring a super-fast language following Deracruz Spanish → English
Jul 09, 2024
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Shortly after being selected as an All-Star on the 8th (Korean time), Deracruz said in an interview with local media that `I am learning English to talk with Shohei.'
It is widely known that Deracruz has special feelings for Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It can be seen as respect and curiosity. There is a famous scene in which he expressed his fondness for Ohtani.
Game 2 of the doubleheader between the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati at Angel Stadium on August 24 last year. Ohtani, who started in the first game and voluntarily withdrew after suffering an elbow injury, defied expectations and played as a designated hitter in the second game. This is because there was no problem with hitting and running.
An interesting scene about Deracruz came out at the end of the 5th episode. When Ohtani doubled to right field, Cincinnati replaced the pitcher. Meanwhile, Cincinnati infielders gathered around Ohtani, and one of them stabbed Ohtani's left arm several times with his finger. It was Deracruz. Ohtani accepted it with a smile.
Deracruz's actions were purely out of curiosity. This is because it was the first time I saw Ohtani up close, who was writing the myth of 'Tutta dualism'. I was wondering if it was a real Ohtani or a person. At the time, Deracruz told Matt McLain 'I'm going to touch if he's real' before he approached Otani" he said.
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Deracruz will play in the 94th All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on the 17th, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to meet Ohtani again. I want to have a simple conversation in Japanese.
Ohtani was selected as the designated hitter for the fourth consecutive year through the first and second fan voting, and Deracruz was honored to play in his first All-Star Game after being selected by the player-coach voting group.
Deracruz seems to have a considerable talent for language acquisition. Deracruz, a native of the Dominican Republic, began learning English in earnest last year when he made his major league debut, and now he talks freely with colleagues and conducts media interviews without interpretation. The plan is to master English and Japanese as well as Spanish, his mother tongue. If it's just because of Ohtani, it should be considered a fan mentality.
Meanwhile, Deracruz stole his 44th and 45th bases of the season in a home game against the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ballpark on the 9th. Deracruz, who started as the second shortstop, led the team to a 6-0 complete victory with two hits, one RBI, two runs and one walk in three at-bats, and showed off his speed of stealing second and third bases in a row after walking on base in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.
With this, Deracruz marked a batting average of 0.251 (85 for 339), 15 homers, 40 RBIs, 62 runs, 43 walks, 45 steals, and an OPS of 0.813 . It ranks first in the stolen base category in both leagues, a whopping 16 differences from the second-place Milwaukee Brewers Bryce Turang (29).
jhno@sportschosun.com
