Home Baseball “I just want to see him” – Japanese Fan’s Epic 6000-Mile Journey to Dodgers’ Spring Training in Pursuit of Shohei Ohtani

“I just want to see him” – Japanese Fan’s Epic 6000-Mile Journey to Dodgers’ Spring Training in Pursuit of Shohei Ohtani

Baseball — 02/27/2024

There can be arguments made against Shohei Ohtani being the best baseball player in the world. However, there can be no debating the superstar’s popularity.

A baseball fan by the name of Seiko Watanabe flew from Yokohama, Japan, to Camelback Ranch in Glendale—a 6000-mile trip, just to see the once-in-a-lifetime baseball star.

Shohei Ohtani signing merchandise for fans

Clad in Dodger blue merchandise while being accompanied by her 6-year-old son, Watanabe shared her experience through ESPN insider Alden Gonzalez:

“I just want to see him. That is my dream.”

It is not rare to see fans from all around the world travel stateside to see their favorite players. In the baseball-crazed country of Japan, Shohei Ohtani’s popularity can only be compared to that of a demi-god.

Here's when Shohei Ohtani will make his Dodgers spring training debut – NBC Los Angeles

This season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will boast two of the best players to ever grace Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League: the aforementioned Ohtani and the ace of Japan’s national baseball team, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

With the signing of two of the biggest names from the Land of the Rising Sun, the Dodgers can now undisputedly tag themselves as Japan’s team, at least in terms of fans.

Sho-time! Dodgers say Shohei Ohtani will make his spring training debut Tuesday against White Sox

Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Impact for the Dodgers

For a huge chunk of the 2000s, the majority of Japanese MLB fans supported the Seattle Mariners because of future Hall of Famer Ichiro. The fanbase eventually grew and branched to other teams with the entry of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Matsui and Yu Darvish.

Hollywood's newest power couple, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto

However, this isn’t the first time that the Dodgers signed a superstar from Japan. 1990 NPB Pacific League MVP Hideo Nomo made his debut for the team in 1995. He had a productive time in Los Angeles, clinching the Rookie of the Year Award and being named an All-Star on the bounce.

In this day and age, though, it is almost a guarantee that the Dodgers’ Japanese fanbase is bigger than any other team’s after signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The number of web searches for the team skyrocketed in the island nation after the signing of the golden duo.

$1 billion was forked out to land the Japanese superstars. However, given the prospect of merchandise sales and endorsement deals for the pair, it is forecasted that the Dodgers will break even or make a profit even after the historic big-money moves.

The duo have yet to play in an MLB regular-season game for the Dodgers but the impact and attention they’ve brought to the team has been second to none.