Ohtani is back in Japan and that puts a bigger grin on these gracious locals as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs prepare to open the regular season in Tokyo.
Japan, the land of the rising sun, can’t get enough of Shohei Ohtani, their returning native son.
“He’s a national hero,” a Tokyo gentleman said and he could be speaking on behalf of the country.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ohtani is back in Japan and that puts an even bigger grin on these gracious locals. Despite their polite and understated personalities, the Japanese can’t dim their enthusiasm for baseball’s brightest star.
Ohtani, a three-time most valuable player, is their guy and it’s hard to explain the significance of his appearance in the Tokyo Series, which next week matches the Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs to start the regular season.
« You see Shohei’s face all over Tokyo,’’ the Dodgers’ Tommy Edman told reporters.
Ohtani’s sunny disposition is impossible to miss in this city of some 14 million. He’s the ultimate baseball player and as a pitch man, he’s unrivaled among athletes.
In addition to earning $70 million annually on a $700 million contract from the Dodgers – with all but $2 million deferred for each of its 10 years – another windfall comes from him endorsing cars, tea, food, clothing, shoes, real estate and that just scratches the surface of his portfolio has products.
According to Forbes, Ohtani earned $60 million in advertisements in 2024, by far the most of any athlete. He’ll easily surpass that total this year as his worldwide popularity soars.
For major-league baseball, what Ohtani is really hawking is its sport on a global level and that’s especially true in a country that screams itself crazy rooting for him and L.A.
Dodgers hats are prevalent in Tokyo and it’s a generational hook with grandparents, parents and their kids donning Dodger apparel.
