(AP) — Hundreds of fans filed into a public viewing center in Shohei Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan on Tuesday morning — the country is 13 hours ahead of Yankee Stadium — to cheer the country’s top celebrity in Game 3 of the World Series.
Fans lined up outside the Oshu City Cultural Center, a 500-seat auditorium, on a perfect fall morning to watch their local hero in a live telecast. They were there an hour before the game started.
Many came dressed in Dodger Blue — caps or jerseys — and were supplied with various noisemakers, including thunder sticks. The hall was adorned with posters announcing Ohtani as “The Pride of Oshu City.”
Ohtani, playing two days after dislocating his left shoulder in Game 2, drew a walk on his first at-bat. That drew wild cheers from the 250 fans attending, who chanted “Go, Go. Shohei.” Then came even more cheers when the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on Freddie Freeman’s home run.
“He’s more like a Japanese treasure than just a local (treasure),” said fan Hiromitsu Kikuchi. “I think he has passed beyond the hometown and is more like world-class. We have never had a star player like this before from our hometown.”
Among the mostly older fans were about 20 children from the kindergarten that Ohtani attended. They came equipped with small flags emblazoned with Ohtani’s smiling face.
Several fans said they were worried Ohtani might not play but set out from home when they got the good news.
“I came to see Ohtani because the television news reported that he would play,” said fan Tadashi Onodera. “It’s fantastic. We are proud to have such a player from out hometown.”
This is the town where Ohtani played Little League, starred as a pitcher and hitter at Hanamaki Higashi High School, and became the favorite son of Iwate Prefecture, a mountainous region abutting the Pacific Ocean.
His hometown is located about 300 miles (500 kilometers) north of Tokyo, a largely rural place far from the capital, its hundreds of skyscrapers and high-end prosperity.
All eyes at the viewing were on the Dodgers superstar — and his left shoulder. His injury briefly cast a pall and flipped Japan’s mood from magic to morose.
Then came relief. The magic returned as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts started Ohtani as the designated hitter and leadoff hitter in Game 3, what local fans and all of baseball wanted to see.
“I was concerned (about the injury), but believed it would be okay,” said Masatoshi Honmyo, another local fan. “I would say he is a hero.”
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