‘On top of the world’: Japan hails Shohei Ohtani series triumph
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Shohei Ohtani clinched the title with a 4-1 series win over the New York Yankees on Oct 30.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – Shohei Ohtani’s World Series triumph was given blanket media coverage in his native Japan on Nov 1, with headlines proudly proclaiming it was just the start for their national hero.
The 30-year-old’s Los Angeles Dodgers side clinched the title with a 4-1 series win over the New York Yankees on Oct 30, giving Ohtani his first championship in Major League Baseball (MLB).
He is wildly popular in Japan, with his every move covered in minute detail by local media.
The Sports Hochi newspaper said Ohtani “stood on top of the world”.
“It was his first time in the post-season but he showed what he was made of,” a columnist wrote. “Make no mistake, Ohtani was leading from the front for the world’s best.”
But Ohtani had a relatively quiet World Series by his sky-high standards.
He was just one for 11 over the final three games of the series after hurting his shoulder in Game 2.
However, his title victory still capped a record-breaking first season with the Dodgers, whom he joined at the end of 2023 on the biggest contract in American sports history.
Ohtani has been compared to the legendary Babe Ruth for being able to play as both a pitcher and a hitter. He played only as a hitter in his first year with the Dodgers as he recovered from surgery on his elbow.
Japan’s Nikkan Sports newspaper said Ohtani – the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season – could make even more history when he returns to the mound next season.
“From here on, with his pitching and batting, he can build the strongest golden generation, with Ohtani at the centre making it happen,” the newspaper said.
The World Series was given wall-to-wall coverage in Japan, with an average of over 15 million TV viewers tuning in for the first two games.
Shohei Ohtani’s World Series triumph was given blanket media coverage in his native Japan on Nov 1.
Interest was so high that the domestic Japan Series, taking place at the same time, has been relegated to little more than a footnote.
As well as Ohtani, the Dodgers have Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history.
Yamamoto pitched in Game 2, which drew a post-season record TV audience of 15.9 million in Japan.
“It was dubbed ‘Star Wars’ in a battle of the big powers against the Yankees, but Shohei Ohtani was the symbolic presence who took them to the top,” added Nikkan Sports.
“That’s nothing out of the ordinary, even when it looks like the pressure is overwhelming.” AFP