Shohei Ohtani a hero to kids in Japan and a symbol of hope

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Bats are seen on the ground as the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team practices Oct. 13 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)

Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players.

“With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice on Sunday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo.

“Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the young players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached the highway, yet.

Ohtani-mania ebbs and flows in Japan, though blue Dodgers caps have replaced Yankees caps as the country’s go-to sports fashion item.

Japan has other big names on the world sports stage: golfer Hideki Matsuyama, boxer Naoya Inoue and tennis player Naomi Osaka. And Japan came away from the Paris Olympics with a record of 20 gold medals, a best for the country for a Games on foreign soil.

But no one matches Ohtani, not even teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto who outpitched fellow Japanese Yu Darvish to defeat the San Diego Padres in the best-of-five NLDS.

The mania topped out when Japan won the World Baseball Classic about 20 months ago, defeating the United States. And it hit another peak when Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract and moved from the Angels to the Dodgers to start the 2024 season.

The only valley came in March when Ohtani was briefly implicated in a gambling scandal. Prosecutors eventually found no evidence Ohtani was involved.

The next peak is building slowly with Ohtani and teammate Yamamoto in the NLCS against the New York Mets. If the Dodgers reach the World Series, public viewing areas are almost certain to be set up across Japan to watch the games--most being shown in early morning in the country.

The time difference between New York and Tokyo is 13 hours. It’s 16 between Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Yukako Takahashi watched her 10-year-old son Haruka at Sunday’s practice, and she was clear about Ohtani’s influence on her son and his teammates.

“Everyone is inspired by him,” she said. “Kids wonder how he got his spirit. For kids he is just a big idol. He’s perfect.”

She said she wasn’t regularly watching Ohtani’s games from the United States, but she follows him on the local news. Many days, he’s the top story, and not just the top sports story. She suggested interest was sure to build if the Dodgers reach the World Series later this month.

She also said Ohtani was inspirational for the rest of Japan, partly because he is able to beat the Americans--and Latin Americans--at their own game.

“The economy is down these days in Japan,” she said. “Things are very difficult these days. But with Ohtani being successful, he is our hope.”