By Akiko Okamoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese baseball fans celebrated along with their Los Angeles counterparts as local hero Shohei Ohtani added baseball’s biggest prize to his already huge collection of trophies by winning the World Series with the Dodgers.
Ohtani, who played six years at the Los Angeles Angels without once making the playoffs, secured his first major league title in his first appearance in the postseason when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 7-6 on Wednesday to clinch a 4-1 series win.
Wednesday night in New York meant Thursday lunchtime in the Tokyo district of Shibuya, where fans gathered in bars to watch Game Five of the Fall Classic.
“I would like to say congratulations (to Ohtani),” said Shigeru Hirosaki, a 53-year-old freelance business consultant.
“Thank you for showing Japan your dream. Japan as a country has been down and depressed lately but seeing young Japanese people (like Ohtani) succeed in the world is also a dream for old people like us.”
Although the injury-hampered slugger’s contribution in the World Series was modest, he is expected to win his third career MVP award after a season for the ages.
Widely considered one of the greatest two-way players in baseball history, the 30-year-old joined the Dodgers on a record 10-year, $700 million deal at the end of last year but elbow surgery prevented him from pitching this season.
He made up for it with his batting, finishing the season with a career-high 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases to become the first member of Major League Baseball’s 50/50 club.
American expats and tourists joined locals to watch the series climax at a baseball-themed bar in Shibuya, many in Dodgers caps and shirts.
“Oh it’s been amazing, the fans here are so passionate,” said Max Ginsberg, a software engineer from Los Angeles.
“This bar is like dedicated Shohei bar pretty much, it’s unbelievable. Ohtani is plastered everywhere, you cannot not see him when you are walking around and it’s just amazing.”
The fans cheered as TV screens showed Ohtani racing out of the dugout to celebrate after Walker Buehler had struck out the final Yankees batter to seal the Series triumph.
Those teammates included Ohtani’s compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers on a 12-year contract worth $325 million last year and was the winning pitcher in Game Two.
Ohtani, who led his country to the 2023 World Baseball Classic title with a win over the United States in the final, is already a huge star back home and his participation in the World Series drove record TV ratings in Japan.
“I’m just simply happy, that’s all I’m feeling,” Ohtani told Japanese television at Yankee Stadium.
“Having come to a new team, and now finishing in the best way possible – it’s really been the best year ever.”
He also had a few words for the Japanese fans who had flown to the United States to support him this season.
“The cheering gave me a lot of energy so I’m glad we were able to win in the end and finish in great fashion. It was an amazing season.”
(Reporting by Akiko Okamoto, additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, writing by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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