TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Shohei Ohtani’s World Series triumph was given blanket media coverage in his native Japan on Friday with headlines proudly proclaiming it was just the start for their national hero.
Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the title with a 4-1 series win over the New York Yankees, giving Ohtani his first championship in Major League Baseball.
The 30-year-old is wildly popular in Japan and his every move is covered in minute detail by local media.
Friday’s Sports Hochi newspaper said Ohtani “stood on top of the world.”
“It was his first time in the postseason but he showed what he was made of,” a columnist wrote.
“Make no mistake, Ohtani was leading from the front for the world’s best.”
Ohtani had a relatively quiet World Series by his sky-high standards.
He was just 1-for-11 over the final three games of the series after hurting his shoulder in Game 2.
But his title victory capped a record-breaking first season with the Dodgers, who he joined at the end of last year on the biggest contract in American sports history.
Ohtani has been compared to the legendary Babe Ruth for being able to play as both a pitcher and a hitter.
He played only as a hitter in his first year with the Dodgers as he recovered from surgery on his elbow.
Japan’s Nikkan Sports newspaper said Ohtani could make even more history when he returns to the mound next season.
“From here on, with his pitching and batting, he can build the strongest golden generation, with Ohtani at the center making it happen,” the newspaper said.
The World Series was given wall-to-wall coverage in Japan, with an average of over 15 million TV viewers tuning in for the first two games.
Interest was so high that the domestic Japan Series, taking place at the same time, has been relegated to little more than a footnote.
As well as Ohtani, the Dodgers have Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history.
Yamamoto pitched in Game 2, which drew a postseason record TV audience of 15.9 million in Japan.
“It was dubbed ‘Star Wars’ in a battle of the big powers against the Yankees, but Shohei Ohtani was the symbolic presence who took them to the top,” said Nikkan Sports.
“That’s nothing out of the ordinary, even when it looks like the pressure is overwhelming.”