Shohei Ohtani Is The Biggest Star In The Land Of The Rising Sun

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani warms up, ahead of the start of the MLB Tokyo Series at the … [+] Tokyo Dome. The Dodgers will face the Chicago Cubs twice in kicking off the regular season. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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. The majority of the garb and gear is Ohtani-related after his historic 50/50 season last year.

Fans of Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani wait for the team arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as … [+] the Dodgers will open the season against Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18-19. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

“I think our mission was accomplished in painting the country of Japan in Dodger blue,’’ said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, an Okinawa native.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gestures after a press conference in Tokyo ahead of the … [+] Dodgers playing their MLB opening games against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome next week. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

So many Dodgers fans appeared at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to welcome the club it had to switch terminals to avoid the crush. Tickets for an off-day workout sold out in a hour and good luck getting into the actual games for under $2,000.

Want to sit close when L.A. faces the Cubs in its bid to defend its world championship? Those seats were going for north of $15,000 each on the secondary market.

It’s believed to be the highest-priced tickets for any games in MLB history.

Ohtani is second to none among Japanese players and the Dodgers lead the league with three such standouts in Ohtani and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie Roki Sasaki.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, left, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, center, and Roki Sasaki, right, pose … [+] during a press conference on Friday in Tokyo, as the Dodgers play their MLB opening games against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome next week. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Each of them will star for the Dodgers in the Tokyo Series and the Cubs have Japanese players as well in left-hander Shota Imanaga and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

It was Suzuki that took batting practice at the Tokyo Dome with a Samurai sword, but not even that could cut into Ohtani’s grasp on the nation.

The humble and gracious Ohtani, as usual, deflects the all-encompasing attention toward others.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers participates in a practice at the Tokyo Dome on Friday as … [+] he returns to his native country to open the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

“I’m sure my teammates are enjoying Japan right now and I hope they continue to do so,’’ Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton to a massive media throng on Friday “I hope that the fans get to see my teammates enjoy Japan.’’

What they really want to witness is for Ohtani to shine in the Tokyo Dome where the music, chants and cheers seldom take a pitch off.

“In one sense, it’s just two baseball games,’’ Roberts said. ”But in a global sense, it’s a big opportunity for us.”

The chance to observe Ohtani in Japan isn’t lost on this country where baseball truly is the national pastime. The Dodgers have but one fan club in a foreign nation and it’s in Japan, where numerous watch parties are being held for those blanked on game tickets.

Those Japanese fans regularly rise early in the morning to watch the Dodgers on TV when they play in North America. The opportunity to see them at a decent hour minus sleep in their eyes is a dream.

Ohtani is the apple of everyone’s eye in Japan, but their love for him isn’t singular.

While Japanese customers buy the most Dodgers tickets from those outside of North America, 28 other countries also purchased them.

Fanatics, the official souvenir arm of MLB, said Ohtani merchandise accounts for nearly 60% of its total sales.

In his one year with the Dodgers after spending his first six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Fanatics said its sales of Ohtani gear in Japan produced a 2,000% boast.

He’s that beloved and a recent survey of nearly 13,000 Japanese residents proved it when asked which athlete that they admire the most from their country.

Ohtani was listed first at 63.9% and second-best was soccer’s Kaoru Mitoma at a distant 4.8%.

The ground covered by the Dodgers for them to perform in Japan is commendable, a daunting journey that required a mountain of logistics as they departed their spring-training digs in Glendale, Ariz., to start the season, then stop it and then start it again.

While it wasn’t easy to fit all the pieces together, it’s far from puzzling that the trek will be a resounding success.

Before Tuesday’s first pitch, the Dodgers have already won over a country that didn’t need require much coaxing.

And while Ohtani is certainly the cherished property of the Dodgers, he belongs to Japan. Its unrelenting interest in Ohtani is as common as his uncommon talents.

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Shohei Ohtani Is The Biggest Star In The Land Of The Rising Sun

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