CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A crowd of people followed Hideki Kuriyama on Saturday morning as he walked down the left-field line at BayCare Ballpark.

He chatted with Trea Turner. He shook hands with Kyle Schwarber.

Kuriyama, 62, is a big deal in Japan. He managed Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when it beat Team USA in the title game, and the Nippon Ham Fighters from 2012-21. He is a mentor to many of Japan¡¯s greatest players, including Shohei Ohtani. This spring, in his role as Nippon chief baseball executive, he is visiting multiple big league camps in Florida and Arizona, particularly to see Japanese players.

The Phillies have not had a Japanese player since 2008, although they tried to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto in December. Even then, the Phils knew they had little chance to sign him, no matter how much money they offered.

Los Angeles and New York simply has more cache than Philly.

¡°Obviously, the Yankees and Dodgers are the best-known teams in Japan,¡± Kuriyama said through an interpreter. ¡°But the Phillies are also a well-known team at this time.¡±

But apparently not well-known enough to put them on a level playing field with Los Angeles and New York. Back in December 2017, the Phillies put together a presentation for Ohtani. They heard nothing for weeks when his agent, Naz Balelo, told them they did not make the second round. It was not a surprise. Months earlier, Ohtani said he wanted to get a photo in front of the Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia. A reporter reminded him that Philly had a baseball team.

¡°No, I just want to visit there,¡± Ohtani said.

The Phillies hope to elevate their Q Rating in Japan in time. Visits like Kuriyama¡¯s on Saturday cannot hurt. (He visited Clearwater in part because he previously worked with Phillies Florida complex coordinator Keith Werman in Japan.)

¡°There¡¯s just so much talent over there,¡± Phillies general manager Sam Fuld said. ¡°As an organization, we want to put our best foot forward and put ourselves in a spot to land some of that premium talent that exists there.¡±

The Phillies tried almost everything to sign Yamamoto in December. They offered him at least $300 million. They put together a Phillies-hype video that featured Bryce Harper. Harper and Yamamoto FaceTimed for 15-20 minutes in December during the Phillies¡¯ meeting with Yamamoto in Los Angeles.

¡°I just told him about Philly, how great it was, how great it was in the postseason,¡± Harper said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to sell him on it. I said, ['H]ey, I want you to make the best decision for you and your family. And wherever that is, go do your thing.['] But there¡¯s nothing like playing in Philadelphia. Not everybody can do it. Right? It¡¯s something that we all enjoy as a team. It¡¯s something we enjoy as a franchise. There¡¯s nothing like it.

"I talked about [John] Middleton and ownership, how great he is, how great the fanbase is. But wherever a player wants to be, he's going to be. So, I kind of told him, if you want to be here, if you want to win, if you want to do everything you can to build something great in the city, you¡¯ll have it here. But then I told him also, if you don¡¯t, go do your thing. What are you going to do?¡±

The Phillies have beefed up their Asian operations since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski joined the organization in 2020, better positioning themselves to strike.

Eventually, they believe it will pay dividends.

¡°It¡¯s increased exposure over there,¡± Fuld said. ¡°It¡¯s increased presence. It¡¯s putting ourselves in a position to evaluate the best that we possibly can. We have a great opportunity to take advantage of the positives that we have organizationally. We have such a dynamic team that is objectively fun to watch. I think that helps grow what could be a potential fan base in Japan and increase our presence and our recognition over there.

"Gradually, particularly as we¡¯ve made some deep postseason runs, I think we have a chance of becoming more recognizable. If you¡¯re a baseball fan on this planet, chances are you know who Bryce Harper is. The chances are you know who Trea Turner is. We have a lot of dynamic, star players that has allowed us to become more recognizable across the globe.¡±

The hope is the next time a legend like Kuriyama visits Clearwater, it won¡¯t be to just chat with players like Harper, Turner and Schwarber. It¡¯ll be to chat with one of Japan¡¯s latest superstars, too.