Ohtani at the heart of truly global World Series

LOS ANGELES -- The distance separating the swarm of reporters from a seated Shohei Ohtani was roughly the same as the 90 feet between home plate and first base. And when the time came for the blue crowd control barrier to be pulled to the side to allow the camerapeople and scribes to access the Dodgers’ pre-World Series media availability session Thursday at Dodger Stadium, many rushed that 90 feet as if trying to beat out a bang-bang play.

As has been the case all season -- and especially now that the Dodgers have reached the first Fall Classic of the Ohtani era -- everything revolved around the expected National League MVP. Ohtani has put the “World” in World Series by creating more coverage and, in all likelihood, more international viewership than the Series has ever seen.

“I’m hoping,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after those media members made it to his table in Dodger Stadium’s center-field plaza, “that there will be a lot of people watching the game.”

He need not worry about that.

With Ohtani and teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom signed record-breaking free-agent pacts with the Dodgers last winter, suiting up on this stage, interest overseas is at a fever pitch.

When Yamamoto pitched opposite Padres starter Yu Darvish in Game 5 of the NL Division Series in the first MLB postseason matchup of Japanese-born starting pitchers, it was Japan’s most-watched MLB playoff game -- a 19.2 rating that equates to an estimated 12.9 million viewers in a country of roughly 123 million people.

The World Series could take things to another level.

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With the 16-hour difference between the West Coast and Japan, Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium will be broadcast Saturday morning in Tokyo. And Game 2, in which Yamamoto will start for the Dodgers on Saturday night in L.A. and Sunday morning in Japan, is important enough that the team behind “One Piece,” a highly popular Japanese anime television series, pushed back the start of its new season -- originally slated for Sunday -- to make way for the World Series.

“I just think that it's going to be a global World Series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I still stand by the fact that more eyeballs are going to be watching this World Series than any other series in history.”

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Naturally, Ohtani is at the center of it all. The Dodgers knew that when they signed him, they were not just acquiring a ballplayer but a brand.

“He’s changed the mix of demographics at our stadium for games,” Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten told MLB.com during the NLCS round. “We have changed some of the merchandise, changed some of the concession offerings. We have a raft of daily tours [in Japanese] we didn’t have before. We have a raft of new sponsors with Japanese connections we didn’t have before.

“But the most lasting contribution has been the combination of Shohei’s profile with the profile of the Dodgers franchise. It’s baseball putting its best foot forward. It’s been a boon for us and for [MLB], which is always looking at international opportunities. All of the teams share in that. It’s just been enormously positive for everybody.”

For all the talk stateside about this being Ohtani’s “first postseason,” it’s important to remember that he’s no stranger to a bright baseball spotlight.

As a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball, Ohtani helped carry his team to the Japan Series championship in 2016. During the semifinal Climax Series (equivalent to the LCS round here), he came in as a closer, threw a NPB record-breaking 102.5-mph pitch and earned the save in the clinching game.

And then, of course, there was Ohtani’s performance in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when he led Japan to a gold medal and closed out the final by striking out his then-teammate Mike Trout.

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So while Ohtani granted that the World Series is “going to be a little different from a Japanese fan’s perspective” than the Japan Series, he embraces the challenge and the eyes upon him. In fact, he has a chance to become just the 14th player to win both the World Series and Japan Series -- a feat most recently accomplished by 2021 Braves reliever Chris Martin.

The World Series has been impacted by Japanese stars many times in the past. Giants outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo was the first Japanese position player to appear in the Fall Classic, in 2002. Pitcher Hideki Irabu, as a member of the Yankees’ World Series teams in 1998 and 1999, was the first Japanese-born player to win a ring. And designated hitter Hideki Matsui of the 2009 champion Yankees was the first Japanese-born player to be named World Series MVP.

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Those stars and others turned the World Series into appointment viewing in Japan. But never to the level that will be reached thanks to Ohtani.

He already had MLB’s highest-selling jersey during the 2024 regular season, and the World Series run has only amplified Ohtani’s star standing in his native land. One Tokyo sporting goods store manager told The Associated Press this week that half of the store’s products are Ohtani-related items and that those items make up an even higher percentage of the products sold.

“After the Dodgers made it to the World Series,” Kakeru Watanabe told the AP, “sales performance seemed to double or triple compared to a normal weekday.”

And that’s precisely why crush of reporters trying to get to Ohtani’s table was unlike anything a World Series Media Day had seen.

“I have been watching the World Series every year, and you know, watching with a sense of disappointment because I couldn't play in one,” Ohtani told them. “But this year, I'm able to participate in one. And very much looking forward to it.”