Tokyo (AFP) – Thousands of paying fans in Tokyo clapped and cheered as they watched Shohei Ohtani make a brief appearance in practice with his Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday ahead of the Major League Baseball season opener. Ohtani is a hero back home in Japan, and fans paid 2,000 yen ($13) each to watch the 30-year-old and his teammates go through their paces at the Tokyo Dome, which will stage two matches next week against the Chicago Cubs.
Ohtani, who is playing in Japan for the first time as a Dodger since joining the club at the end of 2023, went through a brief workout lasting about 10 minutes. The stadium, where Ohtani saw his first baseball game as a child and which seats around 45,000, was about a third full. Ohtani said the games will be a celebration of Japanese baseball talent, with the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki also in action. “I want the Japanese fans to see the Japanese players performing well,” Ohtani told a press conference.
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Ohtani helped the Dodgers win the World Series at the first time of asking, beating the New York Yankees 4-1 in October. He also helped his country win the World Baseball Classic in 2023 on home soil.
– ‘Big hero’ – Kengo Maeda, a 31-year-old high school teacher, came to watch with his wife Hanako and one-year-old daughter Aoi — all wearing Ohtani Dodgers shirts. Ohtani was “a big hero,” said Maeda. “We thought it would be good if we could see Shohei Ohtani even if it was just a little bit, so we bought tickets,” he said.
Around 500 fans waited to see the Dodgers arrive at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Thursday, only for strict security measures to deny them a glimpse of their heroes. The Dodgers play Japan’s Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers in warm-up games over the weekend before facing the Cubs back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This game is being played in Japan but I hope people from all over Asia and beyond can enjoy it,” said Ohtani, who has been described as a modern-day Babe Ruth. “I saw my first baseball game at Tokyo Dome, so I’m really happy to play here in a game like this.”
Yamamoto is set to pitch in Game 1 for the Dodgers, while Sasaki, who joined the team ahead of the new season, will take the mound for Game 2. “It’s not just the Japanese players — we have some other individuals on our team and I’m sure the fans will get a real thrill from watching their speed and power,” said Ohtani. The Dodgers also opened last year’s MLB season in Asia, taking on the San Diego Padres in South Korea.
Manager Dave Roberts said his players were keen to enjoy another cultural experience. “I know guys are excited to see how Shohei and Yamamoto and Roki are received by their people,” he said. “Most of our players haven’t been to Tokyo or Japan, so they’re just excited to try a bunch of different food and see as much of Tokyo as they can.”
© 2024 AFP
