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Shohei Ohtani is donating 60,000 baseball gloves to Japanese schoolchildren

Associated Press

Tags: World news, Education, Sports, Shohei Ohtani
FILE - Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani walks in the dugout during the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 16, 2023. Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Aaron Nola were among the 130 players who became free agents Thursday, Nov. 2, as baseball's business season began the day following the Texas Rangers' first World Series title. Max Muncy, Joe Jimnez and Colin Rea gave up a chance to go free and agreed to new contracts with their teams. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File) (Ashley Landis, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Two-way star and coveted free agent Shohei Ohtani is donating about 60,000 baseball gloves to Japanese elementary schools.

Ohtani, a free agent who has spent the past six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, announced Wednesday on Instagram that he's donating the youth gloves to schools throughout Japan.

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“I’m happy to announce that I will be donating approximately 60,000 youth gloves to every elementary school in Japan,” Ohtani said. “That comes out to around 20,000 elementary schools. I’m hoping the kids can spend their days happily with a lot of energy through baseball.”

The gloves Ohtani is donating are from New Balance, one of his corporate partners.

The 29-year-old Ohtani is coming off a season in which he batted .304 with 44 homers and also went 10-5 on the mound with a 3.14 ERA. He had Tommy John surgery in September for the second time in six years.

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