OSHU, Japan — It was moments before Game 3 began, and the city where Shohei Ohtani was born breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“I almost cried when I saw the injury,” said 50-year-old resident Ayako Oyama, referring to a partial shoulder dislocation the Dodgers superstar had suffered in a stolen base attempt two days earlier.
Despite fears that the designated hitter would be out for the rest of this series, he had recovered and Oyama, dressed in a blue Ohtani jersey, had gone to the local auditorium where the city was holding a World Series viewing party. .
His employer, the city of Oshu, had given him the morning off to attend. (Oshu is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles). He had risen early to mark his place in the long line surrounding the building with about 200 other residents and Mayor Jun Kuranari, who earlier this month traveled to California to sign a friendship agreement. agreement between the city and its counterpart in Torrance. A Fox camera crew was live-streaming the scene to the American public.
As part of a rice art festival, producers used different varieties of rice to create a portrait of Shohei Ohtani and his dog, Decoy, in a rice field in Oshu, Japan, the Dodgers star's hometown.
(Hidenori Nagai / Associated Press)
“I've never seen Oshu in the spotlight like this,” Oyama said, clutching two blue bambams.
Ohtani is, of course, a national hero throughout Japan, his image appearing on billboards, green tea advertisements, and newspaper pages.
But there is something more to Oshu's love for his native son. He is more than just a hometown celebrity or a rare baseball talent, but someone truly unique.
“The people of this region are known to have a serious, diligent and persevering character,” said Tomonori Toriumi, an official with the Oshu sports promotion department.
“That's Ohtani. Even when he is under so much pressure, he doesn't show it.”
A colleague from the “Shohei Ohtani Hometown Cheering Team,” the city’s fan club run by Toriumi, took the stage to rehearse several chants with the crowd: “Let’s go Shohei!”
The first inning started strong: the Yankees walked Ohtani. Freddie Freeman followed with a home run and brought it home.
The crowd shouted, furiously banging their bambams.
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Jun Kuranari, mayor of Oshu, Japan, watches a live broadcast with 200 others before the start of game three of the World Series.
(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)
Oshu, a semi-rural city of about 114,000 people, is not exactly a tourist spot.
The city's few hotels are more likely to be booked by businessmen from Taiwan and South Korea visiting nearby semiconductor factories. The streets are silent and dark at 10:00 p.m.
Among the top local attractions is the Livestock Museum, a nod to the region's high-quality beef. Other local specialties include a form of traditional iron items known as Nambu Tekki and apples.
“Very few people come here,” said Hidetoshi Watanabe, a 68-year-old taxi driver.
“For every 100 out-of-towners you see, maybe one or two are tourists.”
Like many lifelong locals, Watanabe fondly remembers a time when Ohtani was just another neighborhood kid: the skinny freshman who joined the baseball team at nearby Hanamaki High School, where Watanabe's son was a senior outfielder.
A person photographs a banner supporting Shohei Ohtani near Mizusawa train station in Oshu, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday.
(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)
“My son took great care of Ohtani,” Watanabe said.
Even then, Ohtani was already famous as “yakyu baka”: a boy obsessed with baseball.
“I knew he was destined to become great,” Watanabe said. “You could tell he had a much sharper sense for baseball. “Everyone knew Ohtani was different.”
In the years since he left home (and became what many say is the most talented baseball player of all time), Ohtani's local presence has only grown.
Get to the bullet train season near the area where Ohtani grew up and will be greeted by metal wind chimes engraved with messages of support and a small glass display of signed memorabilia.
Local elementary schools serve their students Ohtani-themed lunches, which include menu items like toast with “Dodgers 17” scrawled in blueberry jam. The city has designated the 17th of each month as Ohtani Day, which means bank workers, taxi drivers and public officials go to work wearing Dodger gear. (Los Angeles followed suit and declared May 17 as annual Ohtani Day.)
One of the most popular events in Oshu is an annual festival featuring the art of rice, made from growing five different varieties of rice to form large images in the rice fields. This year's offering: Ohtani in his Dodgers uniform, tossing aside his bat after one of his 54 regular-season home runs.
Meanwhile, almost all traces of Ohtani's former team have been mercilessly erased from the city. There are no Red Angels in Oshu.
Ohtani’s “Pride of Oshu City” posters, plastered all over the city, in bars, train stations and government offices, are now all blue.
In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani's hand, cast while playing in a Japanese league early in his career. Visitors come in to shake hands.
(Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press)
“Well, we support Ohtani first and foremost, not the Angels,” Toshihide Oikawa, an official with the Oshu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said with a sheepish laugh.
Although Oshu, a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, isn't exactly drawing hordes, city officials like Toriumi still receive continuous email inquiries from foreign and Japanese fans looking to make a pilgrimage to Ohtani.
“No one can speak English very well, so it's hard to respond to them properly,” Toriumi said apologetically.
Some find their way independently.
In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani's hand, cast while playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese League, his team against the Angels.
“In the last month, 20 to 30 people have come from abroad,” says Miyoko Ishikawa, whose seat at the information desk looks directly at the extended appendage.
“They come as a family, as a couple or with friends, they come to shake hands.”
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By the time the ninth inning rolled around, it was evident that game three would be another win. Oyama, the official, hurried to go to lunch before returning to work.
The projector screen showed Yankees star Juan Soto looking defeated.
Ohtani had had a quiet outing, but the slightly reduced crowd sang one last chant for his final at-bat, groaning loudly as the ball bounced off his left toe, leading to a walk. Japanese stations made up for the lack of action by trying a Wagyu burger from Yankee Stadium.
But Oshu doesn't care if Ohtani wins or loses, if he's collapsing or if he's the hero in the decisive moment.
“For the Dodgers to win the World Series would, of course, be amazing because we want to see Ohtani's dreams come true,” Toriumi said.
“But even if Ohtani doesn't win a World Series, Oshu will always love him.”
Special correspondent Momo Nagayama contributed to this report.
