Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani is donating 60,000 baseball gloves to children in Japan

Published Nov. 9, 2023 3:08 p.m. ET

Two-way superstar 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.

"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 will donate are from New Balance, one of his corporate partners.

The 29-year-old is coming off a season in which he batted .304 with 44 home runs and also went 10-5 on the mound with a 3.14 ERA.

Ohtani had Tommy John surgery in September for the second time in six years. He is expected to be able to hit next season, but very likely will not pitch again until 2025.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]