Shohei Ohtani is “a treasure” and “above the clouds” in his hometown in Japan where fans met Wednesday thousands of miles from Yankee Stadium to watch their hero try to seal baseball’s World Series.
Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers were on the brink of clinching the title having taken a 3-0 series lead against the New York Yankees.
The celebrations were on when his team went ahead early in Game 4 but the Yankees fought back to win 11-4 and extend the series.
Oshu, a sleepy city of 110,000 in northern Japan known for its apples and beef, will need to wait at least one more day for its favourite son to lift the trophy.
“He’s like someone who lives above the clouds, so it’s a huge source of pride that he comes from Oshu,” 44-year-old Norihisa Sato told AFP at a public viewing event at city hall.
Anticipation was high among the roughly 60 supporters who gathered early in the morning as Ohtani stepped up to the plate for the first action of the game.
Clad in blue Dodgers T-shirts and making noise with their inflatable “thunderstick” clappers, a chant of “Go, go, Ohtani” broke out around the hall.
Many of the fans were retirees, with some city hall workers also given the morning off to watch the game.
“I first heard of him when he was a pitcher at high school and I’ve been supporting him ever since,” Sato said of the local hero.
“I didn’t think he would get as far as this.”
Ohtani is one of baseball’s biggest stars, joining the Dodgers at the end of last year on the most lucrative contract in American sports history.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a record-breaking year, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season, an achievement previously thought impossible.
– Oshu’s ‘treasure’ –
He is an icon in Japan, where baseball is a national obsession.
His performances have been headline news since he moved to Major League Baseball in 2018 but this year is the first time he has appeared in the World Series.
Hazuki Oikawa, a city hall employee, said Ohtani had made her hometown — which is more than 300 miles (480 kilometres) from Tokyo — “brighter”.
“I watched him play at the World Baseball Classic and I knew that he came from Oshu,” the 20-year-old said, referring to the World Cup-like tournament that Ohtani led Japan to victory at last year.
“Usually I don’t watch baseball but it’s because of Ohtani that I learned the rules.”
Ohtani has been relatively quiet in the World Series so far.
He suffered a shoulder injury in Game 2 that looked like it could rule him out for the rest of the series.
He returned for Game 3 but he has clearly been playing through the pain barrier, grimacing occasionally after swinging the bat.
“I felt sorry for him,” said Oikawa.
“I wanted him to try his best but not overdo it. I was worried about him.”
A groan of disappointment went up when Ohtani struck out with the Dodgers trailing 6-4 in the seventh inning.
Regardless of the final outcome in the series, Oshu mayor Jun Kuranari said: “He’s an example for whichever team he plays for and a treasure for our area.
“He can pitch and he can hit, but it’s not just his play.
“People recognise what he is like as a person and that is the thing that makes us happiest.”
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