Shohei Ohtani Has 4x As Many Instagram Followers Than The Next Most-Followed MLB Player

Shohei Ohtani has been putting his mark on the game of baseball during his eight MLB seasons. It was revealed over the weekend that no baseball jersey has sold more since the last World Series than that of the 30-year-old from Japan, and his social media following is four times higher than any other player in the league.

Ohtani’s 9.2 Million IG Followers Is Most In MLB By A Long Shot

Being an international superstar and mogul certainly helps with the popularity. Ohtani is a megastar in his native country, as evidenced by the hype surrounding his early-season visit to Japan with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But his stardom has been gaining traction in the United States as well, especially after joining one of the highest-profile teams before the start of last season.

 

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He had a historic season in his first year with the Dodgers. He became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, and reached the milestone by way of one of the most memorable individual performances that we have seen in a single game in quite some time. Los Angeles made good on their projection of being crowned champions, as they marched their way to a World Series victory, their 8th in franchise history.

Because of his success and popularity, Ohtani has become the MLB player with the most Instagram followers, leaving the rest of the field in the dust. His count is currently at 9.2 million followers, which is more than four times more than the next-highest number in the bigs. Mike Trout comes in in second place on the list at 2.2 million, with Starling Marte not far behind at 2.1 million. Fernando Tatis and Aaron Judge round out the top-5, both with 1.9 million followers.

The numbers still pale in comparison to players in other sports. LeBron James has the most followers of any American-born athlete, coming in at 159 million, which ranks 5th in the world in terms of sports stars. Three of the top four are soccer players, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way with a whopping 651 million followers.