Shin Uebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo and understands how superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers motivates his players.
“With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Uebori said as practice ended on Sunday, on a dirt field next to a local Buddhist temple, under an elevated highway, and surrounded by tall apartment buildings in central Tokyo.
“Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Uebori added while stepping out of the fenced practice area that prevents balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the young players hitting the soft baseballs have reached the highway yet.
Ohtani’s popularity in Japan comes and goes, but blue Dodgers caps have become the new trendy sports item, replacing Yankees caps.
Japan has other big names in sports like golfer Hideki Matsuyama, boxer Naoya Inoue, and tennis player Naomi Osaka. The country also returned from the Paris Olympics with a record 20 gold medals, which is the most Japan has ever won at a Games held in another country.
However, no one compares to Ohtani, not even his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched better than fellow Japanese Yu Darvish to beat the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.
The excitement peaked when Japan won the World Baseball Classic about 20 months ago, defeating the United States. It reached another high when Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract and moved from the Angels to the Dodgers for the 2024 season.
The only low point came in March when Ohtani was linked to a gambling scandal, but prosecutors found no proof of his involvement.
Another wave of excitement is building with Ohtani and Yamamoto in the NLCS against the New York Mets. If the Dodgers make it to the World Series, public viewing areas will likely be set up all over Japan to watch the games, most of which will be shown in the early morning.
There is a 13-hour time difference between New York and Tokyo, and it’s 16 hours between Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Yukako Takahashi watched her 10-year-old son Haruka during Sunday’s practice, and she clearly saw how much Ohtani influences her son and his teammates.
