It is difficult to be omnipresent in Tokyo, one of the largest cities in the world, but Shohei Ohtani has found a way. The Los Angeles Dodgers star seems to be everywhere: on billboards, on products, in television advertisements and news and entertainment shows and, of course, on the field when his games are broadcast live in Japan.
Ohtani may play baseball at 5,500 miles away, but one of the first things people see when they on Haneda Airport, the International Gateway of the city, is a photo of the superstar in an advertisement for green tea.
When you leave the airport, you will see the boyish statue of Ohtani on vending machines, in convenience stores and wrapped around trains that flows through the city. Last week, when Ohtani and his team landed in Tokyo to prepare for two seasonal games against the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers announced a sponsorship with Hakkaisan Brewery, a sake distiller in Japan.
Major League Baseball has not had a shortage of stars over the years, but it has never seen a sensation such as Ohtani, Japan's answer to Babe Ruth, a rare player who can pitch and hit both at the highest level.
His return to Japan this month, where tickets go for his competitions for no less than $ 10,000, has the feeling of a crown for a starter who signed a record contract of $ 700 million last season and the Dodgers helped to win the World Series.
In sports money is often successful and the success of Ohtani has created a windfall for itself, the Dodgers and the League. Ohtani has around 20 active sponsorship offers at any time, such as with the Japanese drug maker Kowa and with New Balance, and the value of his deals after he joined the Dodgers last season with the Los Angeles Angels.
Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of MLB, who has supervised his international expansion, has encountered his share of stars in the competition in the competition. But Ohtani is a cut above.
“I have never seen anything at the level of excitement for Ohtani,” he said in an interview.
Ohtani, 30, is the dream of a marketer – a sport icon, pop star and national hero rolled in. While the Dodgers moved to Japan prior to a few games with the Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday, news programs followed the team's charter flight about the Pacific and Fans speculated about whether Ohtani had taken his Spaniel, Decoy. Talk shows dissected the diet of Ohtani, fashion choices and home decoration, as well as the hobbies of his wife.
“At the moment, Ohtani is the thing that fulfills me with the most spirit in life,” said Kiyotada Sato, 79, an Ohtani Obsessive who visited an MLB fan festival in Tokyo last week.
Sato has a cupboard full of Dodgers -Equipment, a reason why MLB clothing and the sale of Jersey in Japan rose 183 percent last year and sponsorship grew by 114 percent, including new deals with Mastercard Japan and the video company Konami. The Dodgers have seen the number and value of their deals rising, and they are ready to surpass the Dallas Cowboys as the best -earning team, according to SponsorUnited, that follows sports sponsorship.
The Dodgers, all the best team in the competition, saw the presence grow by 2.7 percent last year. According to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, there were 80 to 90 percent of Japanese visitors to the city last year to attend a Dodgers match.
“I experienced this with Magic Johnson,” said Lon Rosen, the Chief Marketing Officer of the team who previously worked for the Lakers. “You never take such a athlete for granted.”
Of course, injuries and overexposure can decrease the shine of Ohtani. But for now he earns money, even for rival teams.
When Ohtani comes to the city, home teams have seen an increase in sponsorship from Japanese companies that buy advertisements in the stadium that can be seen by fans who watch Ohtani's games in Japan. Advertisements for more than three dozen Japanese brands were visible on television during Dodgers Away Games, said SponsorUnited.
Returning to the 1990s, Japanese MLB stars such as Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui Buzz have created. But Ohtani is another caliber player. After five seasons in Japan, Ohtani won three MVP prices in the United States in his first seven seasons.
In October the number of fans in Japan and South Korea who see the Dodgers playing the Yankees in the World Series was the same as the number that was looked at in the United States and Canada.
NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster that shows the games of Ohtani, as well as those of other Japanese players in the United States, the number of viewers saw 50 percent rising last season. It uses extra cameras in Dodger Stadium to follow Ohtani in the Dugout and on the field.
The agent of Ohtani, Nez Balelo, said that the income that Ohtani generates from his sponsorship has enabled him to postpone most of his $ 700 million contract until after the 10-year-old deal in 2033. This gave the Dodgers Room to sign other players, which was important for Ohtani.
Balelo has tried not to invest Ohtani, so that it does not decrease his brand and records his training schedule, including restoring an operation outside the season and practicing both batting and pitching. This has led to the rejection of offers and limiting the time he spends on working with sponsors.
“I wanted to make a much lighter lift for Shohei because he has a lot on his plate,” he said.
Yet there is an undercurrent of fatigue in Japan with the wall-to-wall coverage.
Public flows a lot of Japanese over Ohtani. But on forums such as Reddit Bubbels bubbles from those who have presented their favorite television programs, believe that Ohtani can be infected by a gambling scandal that has brought his interpreter to prison, or simply cannot tolerate the non-stop Fawning.
Toyo Keizai, a publication of the company news, led a story during the World Series with the head, the perspective that is missing in those who are concerned about 'Ohtani Intimidation'. “A commentator said:” It's all Ohtani from morning to night “, and another added,” Not everyone loves Ohtani. “
“People are afraid of criticizing him, such as:” Oh, there is something off with his percussion, “said Mike Peters, who worked as a Japanese translator for the New York Mets and teaches at Shizuoka University.” Nobody will say that, even if it is true because it is a blasphemy to say something negative about him. “
Ohtani has for many years for him. But it will be difficult to count his extraordinary success, including touching 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases, will be difficult. So also finding new fans.
“Ohtani has become such a prominent figure in Japan that there is almost no one who doesn't know him,” said Seiji Terasawa, the deputy director of the broadcasting rights group at NHK. “To further increase his presence, he might have to achieve even more incredible achievements, such as winning the Cy Young Award.”
For now, Peak Ohtani will continue. Last week in Los Angeles, hundreds of fans waited online a day in advance to buy Dodgers merchandise with a limited edition, including Ohtani Jerseys, designed by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The collection, made available in the Fanatics app, sold out in an hour.
Last week Japanese flooded the fanfest in the city of Tokyo Skytree, including a life -size recess of Ohtani and American Stadium Food. Mari Muki and Donn Ozaki, who live in South California, bought tickets to see one of the Ohtani games, which Muki compared to Taylor Swift concert cards.
“Ohtani is popular in the US, and we knew he would also be popular in Japan,” said Ozaki, “but you really have to see it to believe it here.”
River Akira Davis Reported from Tokyo contributed.
