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BY ROBERTO JOZEF

MLB’s first two-way all-star is still making waves

It’s that time of year again, as the Seattle Mariners prepare to host the 2023 MLB All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday, July 11.

Excitement is building for this year’s Midsummer Classic, which continues the long-standing tradition (since 1933) of showcasing baseball’s finest talent and celebrating the game fans love. While fans voted to send their favorites to the game, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels was busy generating headlines with his impressive offensive play. Ohtani, who moved from Japan to the big leagues in 2018, appears to be on pace to match his 2021 MVP season when the pitcher/designated hitter became the first all-star in MLB history to be chosen as a two-way player.

With free agency looming, Ohtani is arguably playing the best baseball of his career. In a four-game stint against the Texas Rangers earlier this season, the former AL rookie of the year hit four home runs in the series, and in the final game, he struck out three Rangers. Last year, Ohtani became the first player to finish among MLB’s top 15 in both home runs and pitching strikeouts since the pitching mound was relocated in 1893. If Ohtani manages to eclipse his 2021 MVP season, it will be hard to deny another MVP run at the plate.

If not for the talents of Aaron Judge hitting 62 home runs in the 2022 season, Ohtani would potentially be chasing his third straight AL MVP award right now. He remains one of MLB’s toughest pitchers (with an AL-low batting average against of .178 as of June 20) and was the first player in the AL to hit 20 homers (as of June 20 he had 24).

Off to a historic start, look for Ohtani to continue to put on a show for the fans, as the 2023 MLB season reaches the (symbolic) halfway mark with this year’s MLB All-Star Game, set for Tuesday, July 11. Fans can catch all the action live on Fox and Fox Deportes.

Full name: Shohei Ohtani

Birth date: July 4, 1994

Birthplace: Oshu, Iwate, Japan

Height/weight: 6-4/210 pounds

Teams: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham

Championship, First Round. (Live)

5 p.m. ESPN2 NBA Summer League Basketball Teams TBA. (Live)

7 p.m. ESPN NBA G League Basketball Teams TBA. (Live)

8 p.m. FS1 Major League Rugby Collegiate Rugby Shield. (Live)

9 p.m. ESPN Auto Racing Superstar Racing Experience. (Live) ESPN2 NBA Summer League Basketball Teams TBA. (Live)

9:30 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Genesis Scottish Open, First Round. (Live)

2 a.m. GOLF PGA Tour Champions Golf Kaulig Companies Championship, First Round. (Live)

F riday

8 a.m. ESPN 2023

Wimbledon Championships Gentlemen’s Singles Semifinals. (Live)

8:30 a.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Genesis Scottish Open, Second Round.

(Live)

1:30 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Champions Golf Kaulig Companies Championship, Second Round. (Live)

4 p.m. ESPN 2023 WNBA

3-Point and Skills Challenge (Live)

GOLF PGA Tour Golf Barbasol Championship, Second Round. (Live)

Solution is on page 6.

5 p.m. USA NASCAR Xfinity Racing Series

Fighters (2013-2017), Los Angeles Angels (2018-present)

Honors and achievements: AL MVP (2021), AL Rookie of the Year (2018), two-time All-Star (2021, 2022), twice named to the

Ambetter Health 200, Qualifying. (Live)

7 p.m. ESPN2 NBA Summer League Basketball Teams TBA.

FS1 NHRA Drag Racing Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals, Qualifying. (Live) 9 p.m. ESPN2 NBA Summer League Basketball Teams TBA.

11 p.m. ESPN2 NBA Summer League Basketball Teams TBA.

11:30 p.m. GOLF PGA Tour Golf Genesis Scottish Open, Second Round.

2:30 a.m.

Best Las Vegas Movies

“Ocean’s Eleven” (1960): Arguably the ultimate Vegas movie, the Rat Pack heist classic follows several ex-soldiers - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford among the actors involved - as they rob five casinos simultaneously on New Year’s Eve. Turner Classic Movies (which runs the film frequently) shows it Tuesday, July 11, as part of a tribute to films set in Vegas.

“Viva Las Vegas” (1964): Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, the title city and a terrific theme song make a perfectly breezy entertainment formula.

“Diamonds Are Forever” (1971): James Bond (Sean Connery) gives the Vegas police a run for their money — and sends tourists fleeing — in a wild car chase that ends in a parking lot free-for-all.

“The Godfather” (1972): As Michael

Corleone (Al Pacino) decides to resettle the family business in Vegas, casino operator Moe Greene (Alex Rocco) makes a big mistake in not letting the crime clan buy him out.

“Rain Man” (1988): The siblings played by Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise end up in Vegas, where autistic savant Raymond (Hoffman) helps them cash in.

“Bugsy” (1991): Mobster Benjamin

“Bugsy” Siegel (Warren Beatty) runs into trouble, financial and otherwise, in trying to establish a casino stronghold in Las Vegas.

“Honeymoon in Vegas” (1992): A novice gambler’s (Nicolas Cage) fiancee (Sarah Jessica Parker) becomes a big part of a game’s stakes in a comedy that’s legendary for its skydiving Elvises.

“Indecent Proposal” (1993): The loveor-money saga casts Robert Redford as a

All-MLB First Team (2021, 2022), Silver Slugger Award (2021), twotime recipient of Edgar Martinez Award (2021, 2022), AP Athlete of the Year Award (2021) billionaire who offers $1 million to sleep with a married woman (Demi Moore).

“Casino” (1995): Director Martin Scorsese shows the dark side of Vegas, with his frequent colleague Robert De Niro as a dicey casino manager. “Leaving Las Vegas” (1995): Another dark view of Vegas is this portrait of a screenwriter (Nicolas Cage) intending to drink himself to death.

“Ocean’s Eleven” (2001): It was a different Las Vegas by the time George Clooney and company remade the crime comedy, so this version - stylishly directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also set two sequels there - rates mention, too.

“The Cooler” (2003): William H. Macy is terrific as the embodiment of bad luck used to “cool” winning gamblers.