ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is called out on his OWN show by colleague for attacking Angels' star pitcher Shohei Ohtani for using an interpreter ahead of MLB All-Star game 

  • Smith had criticized Ohtani, who was born in Japan, for not speaking English during public interviews 
  • Smith later released an apology to Twitter claiming that he was 'sincerely sorry' for his statements and calling Ohtani 'one of the brightest stars in all of sports'
  • He also opened the show by discussing the situation before Passan chimed in 
  • Passan said Ohtani 'left behind everything he knows to go and pursue the American Dream'
  •  Passan added that Ohtani is 'the sort of person' whom the network and country 'should embrace'

ESPN columnist Jeff Passan took a swing at Stephen A. Smith on his own show in response to the First Take host's comments about Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani.

Smith had criticized Ohtani, who was born in Japan, for not speaking English during public interviews. 

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'I don't think it helps that the number one face, is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he's saying, in this country,' Smith had said.

Smith later released an apology to Twitter claiming that he was 'sincerely sorry' for his statements and calling Ohtani 'one of the brightest stars in all of sports.' He also opened the show by discussing the situation before Passan chimed in. 

'Shohei Ohtani came to this country at 23-years-old. He left behind his family, he left behind his culture, he left behind his country,' Passan started his comments. 

'He left behind everything he knows to go and pursue the American Dream. He wanted to come here and be great.'

ESPN columnist Jeff Passan took a swing at Stephen A. Smith on his own show in response to the First Take host's comments about Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani is the first player to regularly pitch and play a position since Babe Ruth
Ohtani is the first player to regularly pitch and play a position since Babe Ruth
Smith, left, had criticized Ohtani, who was born in Japan, for not speaking English during public interviews
Smith later released an apology to Twitter claiming that he was 'sincerely sorry' for his statements and calling Ohtani 'one of the brightest stars in all of sports'

Passan added that Ohtani is 'the sort of person' whom the network and country 'should embrace.' 

'We are not the ones who should be trafficking in ignorance. We are not the ones who should be perpetuating false ideas that unfortunately far too many people out there believe,' Passan said.

Passan said people should look at Shohei Ohtani as a 'bastion' of what America is about. 

'He has reached that greatness. He has achieved that. He has found that here in America and he has done so without speaking English publicly. And he has done so speaking English to his teammates,' Passan said.

He added: 'The reality about Shohei Ohtani, Stephen A., is that he is a story that we should be wanting to tell.'

'It's unfortunate that something like yesterday happened, but this gives us the opportunity to come out here today and talk about what Shohei Ohtani is doing,' Passan said.

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During the appearance, Passan compared Ohtani's legacy to that of Babe Ruth and Bullet Rogan.

Ohtani, an incredible pitcher and hitter, started the All-Star game on Tuesday night batting first after his 'electric performance at the Home Run Derby yesterday,' Passan noted.

He became the first two-way All-Star on Tuesday night in style, featuring a 100 mph fastball to pitch a perfect first inning against the National League after being denied a hit by a nice defensive play in his first at-bat. 

Ohtani, the major league home run leader and one of the American League's better pitchers for the Los Angeles Angels, was the center of attention Tuesday night as the All-Star Game returned after a one-year absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He was both the starting pitcher for the American League and its designated hitter at Coors Field. 

He was replaced by Lance Lynn on the mound in the second inning but under a tweak of the rules made just for him was allowed to remain as designated hitter.

Players in both dugouts were hanging on the rails to watch Ohtani, who grounded out in both of his early at-bats.

Washington's Max Scherzer, just the sixth pitcher to start four All-Star Games, began Ohtani with a 95.5 mph fastball to begin the game. 

The left-handed batter grounded his second offering toward the right side of second base, where Pittsburgh's Adam Frazier ranged to make a backhand pickup and threw to first to retire the speedy Ohtani.

A 27-year-old right-hander, Ohtani retired Fernando Tatis Jr., Max Muncy and Rockies fan favorite Nolan Arenado in order in the bottom half, throwing 10 of 14 pitches for strikes.

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Throwing at up to 100.2 mph, Ohtani used seven fastballs, four sliders, two splitters and one cutter.

Tatis, wearing spikes with pink trim and matching undershirt sleeves, flied to left on a cutter off the end of his bat leading off the bottom half. Muncy grounded to second and Arenado, traded to St. Louis last winter, grounded to shortstop.

Ohtani is the first player to regularly pitch and play a position since Babe Ruth made 19 starts for the Boston Red Sox in 1918 and 15 in 1919. Ruth hit 11 homers in 1918 and 29 the following year, and from 1920 on made just four starts for the rest of his big league career, which ended in 1935.

Ohtani is batting .279 with 33 homers and 70 RBIs in his fourth major league season. He is 4-1 with a 3.49 ERA in 13 starts, striking out 87 and walking 35 in 67 innings.

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