Japan gripped by two things: a general election and Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder
Monday morning headlines in Japanese newspapers will be dominated by the results of the previous day’s general election. But speculation about the country’s political future after a closely contested vote will compete for space as another event takes place thousands of miles away. And it’s all thanks to one man: Shohei Ohtani.
On Tuesday in Japan, millions of people are expected to devour every pitch and hit in the next installment of the seven-game World Series between Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, with enthusiasm reaching a level usually reserved for the climax of domestic baseball, the Japan Series.
Despite injury fears, even the awkward time difference – New York is 13 hours behind Tokyo – won’t deter the legions of Ohtani followers, including quite a few with little or no previous interest in the sport. They watch in bars, on TV at home or, most likely, on smartphones on the way to work.
Ohtani left the field Saturday in obvious pain after injuring his left shoulder while trying to steal second base, although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said: said he was “encouraged.” by what he heard from the team staff after the game.
An injury bad enough to end his streak prematurely – with the Dodgers leading 2-0 – would be a cruel blow to Ohtani and his compatriots. As skilled with the bat as he is with the ball, the 30-year-old has earned national hero status in his home country since leaving Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for Major League Baseball in 2018 and spending six seasons with the LA Angels before moving on to the Dodgers last December on a record-breaking deal.
He is widely regarded as the best active baseball player in the world and one of the most talented in the history of the sport, and has inevitably drawn comparisons to another two-way pitcher and slugger, Babe Rutte.
Ohtani is used to the media frenzy that accompanies his every move, both on and off the field. Serious sports fans celebrated his two American League MVP awards and the moment he became the first player from Japan to win the same league’s home run title in 2023. But virtually every facet of the man some mention kanpeki na hito – the perfect person – is considered fair game by the army of Japanese reporters and photographers assigned to document the “Shohei Effect” – from his surprise wedding in March to the exploits of his beloved dog, Dekopin.
Early TV ratings for the World Series figures from Japan have yet to be released, but it won’t be a surprise if they exceed the 13 million – about 10% of the population – who tuned in to watch the Dodgers’ decisive fifth game San Diego Padres National League Division Series earlier this month.
Robert Whiting, an authority on Japanese baseball and author of a book about Ichiro Suzuki – one of Japan’s MLB pioneers – attributes Ohtani’s popularity at home not only to his easy-going manner and philanthropybut also to his ability to “master American players on their own terms.”
“Critics of Japanese baseball say the players are good at the basics but lack the size and strength of their American counterparts, that they have turned baseball into a kind of martial art with endless training and a focus on the mind,” Whiting said . . “But Ohtani is bigger than most American players. He hits longer home runs and throws harder than she does. He makes people proud to be Japanese.”
Last December, Ohtani, who has not pitched this season while recovering from elbow surgery, became the most expensive baseball player in the history of the game when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers before leading them to the World Series this season against the 27-time winners the Yankees.
Even the arrest of his interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, has not affected Ohtani’s popularity. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars from the player’s bank account to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker.
Ohtani’s 50th home run ball of the season sold at auction for $4.39 million, a record price for any ball in any sport, and is now owned by a Taiwanese investment company that has rejected rival bids from Japan.
Fans from Japan reportedly bought more World Series tickets for the series’ first two games than anywhere else outside North America, while the start of the latest series of hit anime series One Piece has been delayed by a week to accommodate a scheduling conflict with baseball.
Japanese expectations for Ohtani have shifted from high to stratospheric after an extraordinary first year with the Dodgers. As the regular season reached its peak, he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases, finishing with a 54–59 record.
The club’s commercial juggernaut shows little sign of slowing down in Japan, helped by the presence in the series of Ohtani’s compatriot and teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers late last year.
Sports shops in Tokyo are full of Ohtani merchandise, from caps and T-shirts to stuffed animals. “I think about half of our products here are Ohtani-related items,” Kakeru Watanabe, the manager of a sports store in the capital, told the Associated Press.
“And in terms of percentage of products sold, Ohtani-related items are even higher,” he said, adding that weekday sales had at least doubled since the Dodgers reached the World Series.
On the eve of his first World Series, Ohtani told reporters he felt “blessed and very grateful” to be playing. If the boy from an old-fashioned town in northeastern Japan can avoid injuries and maintain his scintillating form with the bat, he will earn the gratitude of an entire nation.