The Shohei Ohtani of wiffle ball lives in the Twin Cities and his name is Tyler Flakne. An elite hitter and pitcher, Flakne was the MVP of the 2023 National Wiffle Ball League Association All-Star Game. He showed off his talents in a national broadcast on ESPN 2 earlier this month in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The Fridley native reflected on his MVP performance in a conversation Monday morning. Danny Heck, his teammate, also spoke with KSTP Sports.

Heck threw Flakne batting practice for KSTP’s camera, then hopped in the batter’s box to face Flakne.

***Click the video box above to watch our conversations with Flakne and Heck and to see them in action, including the home run hit in the All-Star Game***

Flakne was an accomplished high school baseball player at Totino-Grace then went on to pitch in college for Augsburg.

Always enjoying wiffle ball as a kid, it was in 2013 that Flakne transitioned to playing it more competitively.

Flakne also plays softball and works full-time for Thomson Reuters.