By Fabian Ardaya / The Athletic
Shohei Ohtani greets fans going to the Tokyo Dome before the two-way star even enters the building. After all, the Los Angeles Dodgers star’s face and likeness are plastered on advertisements in every corner of Japan.
Ohtani’s star power is unmatched, and the Dodgers are seeing the fruits of it. When they signed him, Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, preached the idea of “painting Japan Dodger blue.” Now, the team is seeing that in person.
“I think our mission was accomplished,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday, a day after the Dodgers arrived in Tokyo for their season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs.
It’s an endeavor fueled by their ownership in more ways than one: Guggenheim Partners, the team’s ownership group, are the title sponsors of the Tokyo Series as the Dodgers roll out a roster that features Ohtani alongside fellow Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
When the Dodgers arrived at Haneda Airport last Thursday, the crowds were so massive that they had to exit through a different terminal. When Roberts walked the streets of Shibuya, he saw nothing but Dodgers hats.
“I’m sure that my teammates are really enjoying Japan right now, and I hope that they continue to do so, but also I hope that the fans get to see my teammates enjoy Japan,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Will Ireton.
The media crush was so massive that the workout-day interviews were held in a ballroom at the Tokyo Dome Hotel. There were hundreds of cameras pointed at the Dodgers’ trio of Japanese stars as they posed together, with the 5-foot-10 Yamamoto getting on his tiptoes standing between the much taller Ohtani and Yamamoto.
When the club went through workouts Friday at the 55,000-seat dome, a crowd of 10,507 paying Japanese fans was there to watch. The tickets, worth 2,000 yen (about $13), sold out the allotment within an hour. Most of the fans were wearing Dodgers gear, applauding politely as Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and Will Smith hit batting practice home runs.
“Being able to experience that today was something that gives you a lot of excitement about the game of baseball, how they live it here,” Rojas said. “The players who came before me — a lot of Venezuelan players have played in this league and they’ve talked really highly about the Japanese fan base. It’s really cool to experience something like this that I’ve never experienced before in my life.”
The fans shouted for Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw, but also for the lesser-known players in the building such as relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda. Japan’s most famous American baseball team flexed its celebrity status.
The fans even called out to Freddie Freeman’s son, Charlie.
“This is a cool experience,” Freeman said. “It’s practice, and we have all these people in the stands. So, getting chants for Charlie, I didn’t hear it, but I’m sure he was loving every second of it.”
It’s clear in person: Dodgers are as popular as can be in Japan.
“I think the Dodgers are trying to get right there with the biggest organizations in the world,” Rojas said. “I’m talking about Real Madrid, Barcelona, all the teams that are worldwide. I think the Dodgers are really close to that.”
They played a pair of exhibitions over the weekend against the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers, and they will send out Yamamoto and Sasaki to start each of the two games against the Cubs, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
For Yamamoto, it will be his first opening day start, a chance to showcase his skills back in his home country for the first time after signing a record $325 million contract with the Dodgers before the 2024 season.
“I really feel the excitement of the country with the games being played here,” Yamamoto said. “I’m looking forward to pitching in front of the fans as well, so I want to do my very best to make sure I do that.”
For Sasaki, it’s his major league debut — a chance to prove how electric he can be in Major League Baseball.
“For me, it’s more about being able to pitch in this different uniform and with a different team and making sure I do perform at my best,” Sasaki said.
And for the Dodgers, it’s the opportunity to plant their flag in the country and soak in a nation that has embraced them and their biggest stars.
Comments