The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan.
People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees.
The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country.
Photo: AP
Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, a feat previously thought impossible. He can also pitch, drawing comparison with the legendary Babe Ruth.
The World Series has been drawing record TV viewing audiences in Japan, where the games started at 9:00am local time.
Chiho Hasegawa, a 40-year-old school nurse, said her seven-year-old son had become interested in baseball because of Ohtani.
Photo: AP
“I can’t believe that such an amazing person comes from Japan,” she said. “He’s such a good influence on kids. It’s great that a sportsperson is like that.”
“He’s someone who makes the dreams and hopes of Japanese people come true. He’s a big presence,” said 34-year-old Kenichi Masumura in Tokyo’s Shibuya district.
“I want to thank my Japanese fans for coming all the way to cheer me this season,” Ohtani said on Japanese television. “That cheering gave me some energy so I’m glad I could return the gratitude by winning.”
The newspaper handouts are a Tokyo tradition when Japan celebrates a big event, and this is a huge one for a country whose players were once considered too small, or only good pitchers. Now, there is now strong pride in the fact that their players are among the best in the game.
Japan defeated the US in the World Baseball Classic final last year in Miami, another sign of the country’s prowess in the American pastime.
It was also a victory for Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan — Oshu City — where fans have been gathering all week and anticipating their superstar hero would help deliver the title.
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