The ritual that has us all in fan mode
It seems that the calendar already has a new unofficial holiday: the day when Shohei Ohtani collects his Most Valuable Player trophy and all of Japan comes to a standstill to celebrate it as if it were the premiere of a new season of their favorite anime. On Thursday night, the two-track phenom earned his fourth MVP honor, and by Friday morning, Tokyo train stations were already flooded with special editions of newspapers proclaiming him a national hero. Once again.
The reaction was faster than a 100 mph pitch. From the highest levels of government to the average person, the entire country joined in a chorus of admiration. Minoru Kihara, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, delivered the typical textbook line: “Ohtani’s constant effort and dedication contributed significantly to the team’s victory and boosted the team’s morale.” In other words, what it means to make a baseball team win, basically.
One of those years that seems taken from a video game
But let’s get to the data, which is what’s really cool. The Los Angeles Dodgers player not only helped the team win its second consecutive World Series title, but he did so with numbers that seem fake: a batting average of .282, leading the National League with an OPS of 1.014, 55 home runs, 102 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases. As if that were not enough, he returned to the mound in June after missing a season and a half as a pitcher, and in 47 innings he struck out 62 batters. Does anyone give more?
And then came the postseason, where Ohtani decided that normal was boring and scored what many consider the best individual game in MLB history. On October 17, he hit three home runs and struck out ten in six innings, leading the Dodgers to victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Crazy.
On the street, the fans were clear. A fan who identified himself as Aki commented: “Winning the MVP was considered a certainty, so the real question was whether he would receive a unanimous vote. In the end he did, securing the MVP unanimously.” For his part, Yoshio Inoue, another fan, is already thinking about the future: “I would love to see Ohtani return to Tokyo, start the season there and, hopefully, win his fifth MVP award.” The obsession is real.
Meanwhile, the Asahi newspaper summed up the general sentiment with a headline that was a poem in itself: “Ohtani MVP.” Nothing more, nothing less. Mai Koga, another fan, defined it perfectly: “TV always shows Ohtani, so I watch him too. He is a great man and truly a pride of Japan.” And so, between brutal statistics and a national devotion that knows no limits, Ohtani continues to reign in a sport that seems tailor-made for him.
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