It is a triumphant return that the Japanese baseball team offered itself. More than 400 people gathered Thursday, March 23 at Narita airport, near Tokyo, to welcome the winners of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the World Cup for this sport. “Thank you for imparting incredible energy and courage to all of Japan”, declared the Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, who received the team at his residence and who played baseball in high school. The day before, the Japanese team called “Samurai Japan” had beaten (3-2) the American favorites after an epic final played in Miami.
This third coronation in the competition for Japan – after those of 2006 and 2009 – has a particular flavor on the archipelago, where baseball is in the trough of the wave. And it generated much more enthusiasm than previous editions, because the tournament, organized jointly by Japan, the United States and Taiwan, attracted more stars of the discipline, Americans in particular.
With seven wins in as many games, including a semi-final that ended in the last of nine sets with two runs scored to take the advantage over the Mexican team, the Samurai Japan delighted their fans. In Japan, television audience ratings reached 49%, four times more than in 2006; and the Japanese team’s sponsor, Mizuno, quickly ran out of merchandise. According to Katsuhiro Miyamoto of Kansai University, the economic benefits of this success are estimated at 59.6 billion yen.
The popularity of the team also stems from the presence of the star, Shohei Ohtani, known as “Shotime”. Aged 28, the native of Oshu (northeast of Japan) plays for the club at the Los Angeles Angels, in the American Major League (MLB). A true icon since his high school days, the 1.96 meter player, renowned for his seriousness and modesty, excels at both throwing and hitting – players are usually batsmen or pitchers, rarely both. Qualities that draw comparisons with baseball legend, American George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948).
A sport in disuse in Japan
Shohei Ohtani concluded the final leg of the final in apotheosis, with a duel won against the captain of the United States, Mike Trout. The two men – also teammates at the Los Angeles Angels – being considered the best players of the moment, their opposition was more than expected.
The number of followers on the Instagram account of Ohtani, named the WBC’s most successful player, doubled during the competition, to exceed four million, a first for an MLB player. “Honestly, I’m sad that the competition is over. Now I’m going to train for my Angels team and do my best.”assured the player, who had dreamed since his adolescence of winning the tournament, which corresponds to the World Cup for the discipline.
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