Japan cheers as national hero Shohei Ohtani becomes first 50-50 man in MLB
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Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates in the seventh inning during the game against Miami Marlins.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – Japan erupted in cheers on Sept 20, a day after national hero Shohei Ohtani blasted his way into Major League Baseball (MLB) history as the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.
“Ohtani-san” was the top trending topic on X in the country, and chief government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi lauded the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s “amazing achievement” in inaugurating baseball’s 50-50 club with a six-hit, three-homer game.
“We would like to express heartfelt congratulations on achievement of this major record,” he told reporters.
“We look forward to seeing more great things from Ohtani, who has already achieved so much and broken new ground.”
Ohtani, 30, came into the game on Sept 19 needing one stolen base and two home runs to achieve the feat, a first in the 148-year history of the MLB. He ended with 51 each in the 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins.
“It was something I wanted to get over as quickly as possible,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.
“It’s something that I’m going to cherish for a very long time,”
The first batting and pitching dual threat in the MLB since Babe Ruth, he has been a focal point for Japanese national pride since his debut in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels, where he won two Most Valuable Player awards.
Every aspect of the Iwate native’s life has been a target for media attention, from his sudden marriage announcement earlier in 2024 and a gambling scandal with his former translator, to the name of his dog.
Ohtani-mania in Japan went into overdrive this season when he signed a record US$700 million (S$904 million) contract with the Dodgers and focused on batting following surgery on his pitching arm.
Dodger blue replaced the Angels’ red among best-selling jerseys in Tokyo, and every homer on the way to 50 was replayed on national news programmes each night.
Congratulations for Ohtani poured in across social media.
“Japan’s record-making machine has done it again!” US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel posted on X.
“A true global ambassador of the game.”
Deburi0122 wrote: “I’m proud to be Japanese. Amazing... I’m so happy.”
With an imposing 1.93m frame and ability to crush homers and throw 161kmh fastballs, Ohtani shattered expectations for baseball players from Japan, said Robert Whiting, who has written about Japanese baseball for decades.
“Ohtani beats the Americans on their own terms,” he said.
“He may arguably be the best ever, in MLB history, when you consider that he both hits and pitches at a star level.
“There are a lot of young Japanese, including Itsuki Takemoto of Wakayama now at University of Hawaii, who would like to follow in his footsteps, and may well do.” REUTERS
