Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani started the 2018 year in America’s Major League Baseball and hopes to become the first player to be both a superstar pitcher and a superstar batter since Babe Ruth revolutionized the sport 99 years ago. He’s off to a great start with two dominant pitching performances and three home runs. Plus, we talk about the English phrase “flip a switch.” Read the full transcript of this episode at http://www.plainenglish.com/37     Transcripts are always free and available now! ¿Hablas español? Você fala português? Parles-tu français? 你会说中文吗？ The episode transcripts include instant translations from English to Spanish, Portuguese, French and Chinese. Hover over or tap a highlighted word for the translation. Connect with Jeff on Twitter (@PlainEnglishPod) and Facebook (PlainEnglishPod). Or e-mail jeff@plainenglish.com If you like the program, please leave a review or rating wherever you listen. It will help others discover the program. Never miss an episode! Sign up to receive updates from Plain English at http://www.plainenglish.com/mail  Subscribers get exclusive links for further reading and additional practice with common English words and phrases. Learn English with podcasts! Use Plain English and other podcasts to build your English vocabulary, improve your listening skills, and speak English better. Mentioned in this episode: The Expressions are back! Subscribe to our new podcast, "Essential English Expressions." Each episode shows you step-by-step how to use a common English expression, with plenty of examples. Season 1 is available now. Download or stream all 14 episodes at [link].

Facebook is suffering from a series of scandals related to data privacy. As a result, some people are trying to #DeleteFacebook. Do you know how much information Facebook knows about you? Some users were surprised at what the social network had collected about them. At the end of the episode, we’ll talk about the English phrase “to gather steam.” Read the full transcript of this episode at http://www.plainenglish.com/35      Transcripts are always free and available now! ¿Hablas español? Você fala português? Parles-tu français? 你会说中文吗？ The episode transcripts include instant translations from English to Spanish, Portuguese, French and Chinese. Hover over or tap a highlighted word for the translation. Connect with Jeff on Twitter (@PlainEnglishPod) and Facebook (PlainEnglishPod). Or e-mail jeff@plainenglish.com If you like the program, please leave a review or rating wherever you listen. It will help others discover the program. Never miss an episode! Sign up to receive updates from Plain English at http://www.plainenglish.com/mail  Subscribers get exclusive links for further reading and additional practice with common English words and phrases. Learn English with podcasts! Use Plain English and other podcasts to build your English vocabulary, improve your listening skills, and speak English better. Mentioned in this episode: The Expressions are back! Subscribe to our new podcast, "Essential English Expressions." Each episode shows you step-by-step how to use a common English expression, with plenty of examples. Season 1 is available now. Download or stream all 14 episodes at [link].