There is perhaps no one more interesting figure in the baseball realm right now than Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has a huge following from either side of the hemisphere.
With the reigning World Series champions currently in Japan for the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs, the Ohtani gets a bit more amplified, with fans in his home country seemingly following every one of his movements.
Despite all the attention, four-time MLB All-Star manages to stay calm and focused on the job at hand, something that his teammate and fellow Japanese Yoshinobu Yamamoto wants to master, as the pitcher continues to navigate his way in the big leagues and the popularity that comes along with being a star hurler for a big-market baseball club while having his entire country’s attention on him.
“I’m not sure,” Yamamoto said via an interpreter, expressing his amazement over how Ohtani gets through the day while having everyone fixated on him (h/t Sonja Chen of MLB.com). “But I’d like to learn as much as I can from him.”
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Yamamoto likely has an idea about how to tackle with the increased fame brought to him by simply playing for the Dodgers. After all, he already has a full season of experience in the big leagues under his belt. In the 2024 MLB campaign, Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA, 129 ERA+, 2.61 FIP and a 1.111 WHIP through 90.0 innings and 18 starts for the Dodgers, while also winning a World Series with Los Angeles.
But it’s just on a much different level for Ohtani when it comes to performing at a high level while dealing with immense popularity at the same time. In Yamamoto’s rookie season in the big leagues, Ohtani posted slashes of .310/.390/.646 and led the National League with 54 home runs to go with 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases through 159 games. His incredible all-around performance in his first season with the Dodgers earned the 30-year-old Ohtani his third Most Valuable Player in the MLB, which was also his first in the National League.
The Dodgers will begin their World Series title defense this Tuesday, with Yamamoto taking the mound versus the Cubs, who will also have a Japanese starter on the hill in the form of Shota Imanaga.
