It's difficult to become ubiquitous in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities, but Shohei ohtani has found his way. The Los Angeles Dodgers star appears to be everywhere. Signs, products, TV ads, news, entertainment shows, and of course, on the field where his games will be broadcast in Japan.
Otani may play baseball 5,500 miles away, but one of the first things people see when it disappears at Haneda Airport, the city's international gateway, is a photo of a green tea advertised superstar.
When you leave the airport, you will find a boyish image of Otani's vending machines, and you will be surrounded by a train running through the city at a convenience store. Last week, when Otani and his team landed in Tokyo to prepare for two season-opening matches with the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers announced yet another sponsorship at Hakkaisan Brewery, a Japanese-based liquor distillery.
Major League Baseball has not had a star shortage for many years, but I have never seen the feeling of Otani, the Japanese answer to the Bay Blues, a rare player who can pitch and hit at the highest level.
His game tickets have returned to Japan, which costs $10,000, but has the feel of the homemade star cor-coronation that signed a record $700 million contract last season and helped the Dodgers win the World Series.
In sports, money often followed success, and Otani's success was blown away for himself, the Dodgers and the league. Otani has around 20 active sponsorship deals at any time, like Japanese drug makers Kowa and New Balance, and the value of his deal skyrocketed after joining the Dodgers last season six years with the Los Angeles Angels.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who oversaw international expansion, has encountered a star share in the league in nearly 30 years. However, Otani has the above cut.
“I've never seen anything on the level of Otani's excitement,” he said in an interview.
The 30-year-old Otani is a dream of a marketer. Sports icons, pop stars and national heroes are now one. When the Dodgers advanced to Japan ahead of the pair of matches with the Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday, the news program tracked the team's charter flights in the Pacific, with fans guessing whether Otani brought his spaniel, decoy. The talk show analysed Otani's diet, fashion choices, home decoration, and his wife's hobbies.
“Now, Otani is the most spirit of my life that fills me,” said Kyoto Sato, 79, an obsession with Otani, who visited the MLB Fan Festival last week in Tokyo.
Sato has a closet filled with Dodgers gear, with sales of MLB apparel and jerseys in Japan increasing by 183% last year, and sponsorships increased by 114%, including MasterCard Japan and video game company Konami. The Dodgers are spikeping in the number and value of their deals, and they are poised to surpass the Dallas Cowboys as the top collector team, according to Sponsorunited, which tracks sports sponsorships.
The Dodgers, already the league's top drows, saw an attendance increase of 2.7% last year. Last year, 80-90% of Japanese visitors to the city participated in the Dodgers game, according to the Los Angeles Tourism Bureau and the Convention Committee.
“I lived this with Magic Johnson,” said Ron Rosen, the chief marketing officer for the team that previously worked for the Lakers. “I don't take athletes like this for granted.”
Of course, injuries and excessive exposure can remove Otani's glow. But for now, he's also making money on his rival team.
When Otani comes to town, the home team has seen a surge in sponsorships from Japanese companies that buy in-stadium ads that can be seen by fans watching Otani games in Japan. Over three dozen Japanese brand ads will be visible on television during Dodgers Away Games, Sponsorunited said.
Back in the 1990s, Japanese MLB stars such as Hideo Nomo, Suzuki Kazukiko and Matsui Hideki were the subject of talk. However, Otani is a player of a different caliber. After five seasons in Japan, Otani won three MVP awards in his first seven seasons in the US.
In October, Japanese and Korean fans were watching the Dodgers play the Yankees in the World Series.
NHK, a Japanese national broadcaster that shows Ohtani's games, and games of other Japanese players in the US, saw a 50% increase in audiences last season. Use additional cameras from Dodger Stadium to track Ohtanis in the dugouts and in the field.
Ohtani agent Nez Balelo said the revenue generated by Ohtani from his sponsorship allowed him to postpone the majority of his $700 million contract until the end of the 10-year contract in 2033.
Valero made sure that Otani was not exposed too much. He reduced his brand and avoided eating up his training schedule, which included recovery from offseason surgery and practices in both batting and pitching. That meant quitting the offer and limiting the time he spent working with his sponsors.
“He has a lot on his plate so I wanted a much lighter lift for the shoe hei,” he said.
Still, Japan has a wall-to-wall coverage, and there is an undercurrent of fatigue.
Publicly, many Japanese people are attacking Otani. But forums like Reddit believe that bubbles of resentment from people who have preceded their favorite TV shows can't stand a non-stop fawn, or a gambling scandal in which Ohtani landed his interpreter in prison.
Business News publication Toyo Keizai published the story in the World Series with the headline “The lack of perspective of people making a fuss about 'Ohtani Harassment'.” One commenter said, “It's all otani.”
“Ah, something's off with his batting stance,” said Mike Peters, a Japanese translator for the New York Mets and a teacher at Shizuoka University. “Even if it's because saying something negative about him is like blasphemy, no one will say it.”
Otani is years ahead of him. However, it is difficult to outperform his incredible success, including hitting 50 home runs last year and stealing 50 bases. That too will find new fans.
Terasawa, deputy director of NHK's broadcasting rights group, said: “To further enhance his presence, he may need to achieve even more incredible feats, including winning the Cy Young Award.”
For now, Peak Otani continues. Last week, hundreds of fans waited online a day ago in Los Angeles to purchase a limited edition Dodgers item, including the Otani jersey, designed by Japanese artist Murakami Takahashi. The collection available on the Fanatics app sold out in an hour.
Last week, Japan flooded with fanfests in the town of Tokyo Skytree. This included life-size cutouts of Otani and American stadium dishes. Mari Muki and Don Ozaki, who live in Southern California, purchased tickets to see one of Ohatani's games when Muki compared to Taylor Swift's concert tickets.
“Otani knew that he was popular in the US and that he was also popular in Japan,” Ozaki said.
The Akira Davis River contributed to the report from Tokyo.
