Shohei Ohtani Wins an ESPY, But Mike Tyson Had No Idea He Was a Man!

The Good News: Shohei Ohtani Won a Big Award

Here’s the happy part of our story: Shohei Ohtani won an ESPY award on Wednesday night!

An ESPY is like a trophy given out at a fancy TV show to celebrate the best moments in sports. He won the award for the best single-game performance of the year.

Why did he win? Let’s look at what he did:

• He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (a baseball team).
• In Game 4 of the NLDS (a playoff baseball series) last fall, he did something amazing.
• He hit three home runs (big hits that score runs).
• He also struck out 10 batters (made 10 opposing players miss the ball) as a pitcher.

People think this was maybe the greatest playoff game ever. We might never see anything like it again! The award was always going to be his.

Important Point: Shohei Ohtani’s performance was so good that many call it one of the best playoff games in baseball history.

The Bad News: Mike Tyson Was Confused

Now for the funny part. Mike Tyson (a famous boxer) helped give the award to Ohtani at the show. But Ohtani was not there in person.

Here is the silly surprise:

• Mike Tyson presented the award, even though Ohtani was absent.
• After the fact, Tyson realized he had no idea Shohei was a man!
• He literally thought Shohei might be a woman on stage.

Mike Tyson found out only on that night that the best player in Major League Baseball (the top baseball league in the U.S.) was not a woman at the ESPYs.

Mike Tyson Is Not a Baseball Fan, Apparently

Let’s walk through what happened on stage:

1. Tyson proudly said: "And the ESPY award goes to — check this out — Shohei Ohtani" (and he said the name right!).
2. Then he turned to Jake Paul (another famous person) and asked like a little kid: "Shohei’s a guy?"
3. You could hear in his voice that he was super shocked. He had zero clues. None at all!
4. Jake Paul explained: "Shohei could not be here tonight, he sends his gratitude and appreciation to everyone at ESPN."
5. Tyson asked again if Shohei was a guy.
6. Jake Paul said: "Yeah, he’s a guy. He’s a guy."

What a funny moment! It was a wild little show scene.

The Rest of the ESPYs Was a Mess (Sort Of)

The writer had some thoughts on the whole night:

• Tyson didn’t even know who Shohei Ohtani was.
• The Savannah Bananas (a silly baseball comedy team) opened the show with one of the weirdest performances ever.
• Some comedian (who the writer never heard of) told a really bad Tiger Woods joke.

The writer joked that this year’s ESPYs was a "rousing success" for ESPN — but then said it was really a "dumpster fire that nobody watched." Sad!

Important Point: The article uses jokes to say the ESPYs show was messy and not watched by many, even though Ohtani’s win was great.

Summary

Shohei Ohtani won an ESPY for an incredible playoff game where he hit 3 home runs and struck out 10 batters. But when Mike Tyson presented the award (since Ohtani was away), Tyson was shocked to learn Shohei is a man and not a woman on stage. The rest of the ESPYs had weird moments and was called a messy show by the writer.

FAQ

Q1: What is an ESPY award?
A1: It’s a trophy given at a TV show to honor the best sports performances and moments of the year.

Q2: Why did Shohei Ohtani win his ESPY?
A2: For the best single-game performance of the year — he hit 3 home runs and struck out 10 batters in a playoff game for the Dodgers.

Q3: Why was Mike Tyson confused?
A3: He presented the award not knowing who Shohei was, and thought Shohei might be a woman on stage. Jake Paul told him Shohei is a guy.

Q4: Was Ohtani at the ESPYs?
A4: No, he was absent, so Mike Tyson presented the award in his place.

Q5: Did the writer like the ESPYs show?
A5: Not really — they joked it was a "dumpster fire" with weird acts and bad jokes, even though Ohtani’s win was good news.