Shohei Ohtani a hero to kids in Japan and a symbol of hope

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 13,運動 と スポーツ の 違い 2024 at 16:30 JST

• Share
• Tweet list

• Print

Bats are seen on the ground as the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team practices Oct. 13 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)

Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players.

“With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice on Sunday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo.

“Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the young players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached the highway, yet.

Ohtani-mania ebbs and flows in Japan, though blue Dodgers caps have replaced Yankees caps as the country’s go-to sports fashion item.

Japan has other big names on the world sports stage: golfer Hideki Matsuyama, boxer Naoya Inoue and tennis player Naomi Osaka. And Japan came away from the Paris Olympics with a record of 20 gold medals, a best for the country for a Games on foreign soil.

But no one matches Ohtani, not even teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto who outpitched fellow Japanese Yu Darvish to defeat the San Diego Padres in the best-of-five NLDS.

The mania topped out when Japan won the World Baseball Classic about 20 months ago, defeating the United States. And it hit another peak when Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract and moved from the Angels to the Dodgers to start the 2024 season.

The only valley came in March when Ohtani was briefly implicated in a gambling scandal. Prosecutors eventually found no evidence Ohtani was involved.

The next peak is building slowly with Ohtani and teammate Yamamoto in the NLCS against the New York Mets. If the Dodgers reach the World Series, public viewing areas are almost certain to be set up across Japan to watch the games--most being shown in early morning in the country.

The time difference between New York and Tokyo is 13 hours. It’s 16 between Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Yukako Takahashi watched her 10-year-old son Haruka at Sunday’s practice, and she was clear about Ohtani’s influence on her son and his teammates.

“Everyone is inspired by him,” she said. “Kids wonder how he got his spirit. For kids he is just a big idol. He’s perfect.”

She said she wasn’t regularly watching Ohtani’s games from the United States, but she follows him on the local news. Many days, he’s the top story, and not just the top sports story. She suggested interest was sure to build if the Dodgers reach the World Series later this month.

She also said Ohtani was inspirational for the rest of Japan, partly because he is able to beat the Americans--and Latin Americans--at their own game.

“The economy is down these days in Japan,” she said. “Things are very difficult these days. But with Ohtani being successful, he is our hope.”

• ·ちびっ子魔族とダンジョンを攻略！ゆるかわ冒険譚「魔族、拾いました。」1巻（試し読みあり）
• ·【甲子園】１５０キロ計測の花巻東エース小松龍一「もう１度甲子園に戻ってこれた」支えてくれた仲間たちに感謝
• ·【甲子園】聖和学園の斎藤佑樹　ズボンのポケットにネックレス忍ばせ力投も４回４失点で初戦敗退
• ·【阪神】前夜、適時失策の佐藤輝明が６月２２日以来のスタメン落ち　「３番・三塁」に渡辺諒　４番は森下翔太…スタメン発表
• ·内山昂輝、阿部寛の主演映画「ショウタイムセブン」に声で出演
• ·Ｊ１首位の町田がまたも大型補強！　日本代表ＤＦ中山雄太の獲得決定的　相馬勇紀に続く現役代表加入へ
• ·【広島】新井貴浩監督「内容もいいね」　３番起用の中村奨成が２戦連続マルチ　前夜は２年ぶり２安打
• ·永山竜樹、五輪柔道会場での阿部一二三の衝撃の一言明かす「『俺とリネール、どっちがスーパースター？』って」
• ·西村ツチカが小説版「ルート29」の装画を担当、のり子＆ハルが辿る道のり描く
• ·【動画】丸佳浩は中堅で守備練習
• ·【中日】高橋宏斗が今季１０勝目　自身初の２けた勝利も「通過点だと思って頑張ります」
• ·【甲子園】霞ケ浦が聖地初勝利　春夏通算４度の優勝を誇る智弁和歌山は初戦敗退
• ·救世の勇者、最後の冒険は終わりの旅　ファンタジー世界の終活描く「終活勇者」1巻
• ·輪島功一さんの孫・磯谷大心がＡ級初戦で西川宏次郎に大差の判定勝利
• ·アニメ映画「怪盗グルーのミニオン超変身」が今年公開の洋画最速で興収３０億円突破の大ヒット
• ·日向坂４６・丹生明里、卒業発表後初のインスタを更新！最新曲のオフショットを披露＆２期生７周年記念日に感謝