Shohei Ohtani to donate 60,000 baseball gloves to elementary schools in Japan

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MLB free agent Shohei Ohtani announced he is donating tens of thousands of baseball gloves to every elementary school in Japan to inspire the younger generation to take up the sport.

Key details: Ohtani, 29, announced the donation in an Instagram post on Thursday, writing that he will be donating approximately 60,000 youth baseball gloves to “every elementary school in Japan,” which “comes out to around 20,000.”

“I’m hoping the kids can spend their days happily with a lot of energy through baseball,” Ohtani wrote. “I’ll be looking forward to sharing the field one day with someone that grew up using this glove!”

The gloves: Ohtani will be donating baseball gloves made by New Balance. The MLB two-way phenom signed a long-term partnership deal with the brand on Jan. 31.

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His next team: While there is no official word yet on what team Ohtani will sign with, some speculate that the Japanese-born MLB superstar will choose to play alongside Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani has played with the Los Angeles Angels since 2018.

The Dodgers are reportedly one of the teams that analysts believe could sign Ohtani, with the others being the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets.

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