TOKYO – This is the Shohei Ohtani effect.
Ohtani put on a giant show in batting practice hours before he hit a grand slam in the second inning — in the first he doubled on the first pitch of the game but didn’t score — as Japan hammered Taiwan 13-0 in Pool C at the World Baseball Classic.
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It was Japan’s first game of four in pool play.
Ohtani drew major Western star power to Japan for the game, with actor Timothée Chalamet and pop singer Bad Bunny in the stands.
Ohtani spoke to the crowd after the game.
“I knew it was going to leave the park right away after I hit it," Ohtani said of his grand slam. "It’s important to score first.”
Bowing and tipping his cap, Ohtani thanked the fans.
“It was a good game and we got off to a good start, so I think it was all because of your support,” he said to rising applause as he spoke in Japanese. “I think the battles will continue, but if the fans and the team can come together and cheer it will encourage us. So please support us.”
Starting and winning pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto also, of course, credited Ohtani in a post-game press conference away from the field.
“This was our first game of the tournament and to score the first run is always difficult,” he said. “But Shohei hit a huge home run to give us the momentum. So I tip my cap to him.”
An early show in BP
Ohtani's batting practice thrilled many who had traveled from afar to see him.
Lia Chan and her husband How and other family members flew in from Singapore — about a seven-hour flight to Tokyo — just to watch Ohtani play in the World Baseball Classic.
“And baseball is not even popular in Singapore,” said Lia, who was seated a few rows behind home plate. “We know about baseball, we watch it, but when Ohtani came along it's just gone out of proportions."
Lia, her husband and other Singaporeans in their group were among some 40,000 in the stadium oohing-and-aahing on Friday, and this was only for batting practice hours before the second Pool C game.
Ohtani knows about drama.
He kept the crowd waiting for perhaps 30 minutes as other Japanese players practiced and hundreds of reporters with cameras, phones and tripods milled around in a penned-off area on the field.
Finally, Ohtani emerged from the dugout and waited his turn around the batting cage, hugged a few players, made small talk, and greeted some fans in an area for sponsors.
Fans in the stands stood to get a better look. But they were asked to sit down by attendants holding signs in Japanese and English that read: “Please watch from your seats.”
Ohtani took about 25 swings, hit about 10 balls out of the park and another few against the outfield wall.
When batting practice ended, he jogged out to thank the batting practice pitcher, bowed slightly, and gathered a few loose balls and tossed them into the hopper. Then with a bat in each hand, he trotted off the field to prepare for the game against Taiwan.
“Who does things like that?" Lia said. “He's in another league.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb