It was around this time one year ago when Czech Republic pitcher Ondrej Satoria used the change-up heard round the World Baseball Classic to strike out Samurai Japan superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Satoria was, in his own words, an ordinary guy from Ostrava, Czech Republic, who fit his passion for playing baseball around his day job as an electrician. Ohtani, on the other hand, was not only a professional player, but arguably the best baseball player in the world. Yet on March 11, 2023, David toppled Goliath in one shining moment in front of over 40,000 fans at Tokyo Dome.
The highlights rocketed across the sports world as fans marveled at the sight of baseball’s Superman flailing so wildly at a pitch from Clark Kent that his batting helmet fell off. Looking back, Satoria remembers thinking the hunk of kryptonite he hurled to the plate was a terrible pitch.