SEOUL: The Los Angeles Dodgers wanted to “paint Japan blue” with the signing of Shohei Ohtani, and reaction this week in South Korea suggests they have charmed the rest of Asia too. The Dodgers are in Seoul to face the San Diego Padres in two games to open the Major League Baseball season on Wednesday and Thursday.

The undoubted star attraction is Japan’s Ohtani, whom the Dodgers signed to a 10-year deal worth $700 million in December and has been likened to a modern-day Babe Ruth. The Dodgers have ambitions to become Japan’s favourite MLB team but manager Dave Roberts said there was “lots of room on the Dodgers bandwagon”.

“It’s good to see even here in Korea, to see the Dodger hats around Seoul,” he said. “I can’t imagine the (number of) Dodger hats that are walking around Japan now.“It’s an exciting time, not only for Los Angeles and Major League Baseball, but all over the world.”

Ohtani is a national hero and huge source of pride in Japan, even more so after leading the country to victory in last year’s World Baseball Classic. The Dodgers followed up his signing by snapping up Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million deal.

Yamamoto is also a star in his home country, where he won three straight awards as Nippon Professional Baseball’s top pitcher. The Dodgers have a rich history of signing Japanese players, starting with trailblazing pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.

Nomo was vilified in Japan for leaving to try his luck in the MLB, but he soon became a hero when he succeeded in LA. “Hideo Nomo was a pioneer for the Dodgers,” said Roberts. “Having Shohei and Yoshinobu here, the hope this winter was to paint the country of Japan blue, and I think we’ve done that.”

Nomo brought the Dodgers to a nationwide audience in Japan but other teams have also enjoyed moments of popularity thanks to the success of their Japanese players. Former pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka told AFP that the Boston Red Sox saw a spike in interest when he led them to the World Series title in 2007. But he believes the Dodgers have an enduring popularity in Japan that Ohtani’s arrival will only strengthen. 

“The Dodgers were already popular in Japan but I think Shohei Ohtani joining will increase their number of fans several times over,” he said. Matsuzaka said “a lot” of Japanese fans will travel to LA to watch Ohtani in action.

“Dodger Stadium has always been a popular place and it’s difficult to get tickets, so tickets will be even harder to get now,” he said. MLB has staged regular-season games in Tokyo five times but this year’s series in Seoul is the first time they have played in a different Asian country.

Baseball is arguably South Korea’s number one sport and the country’s Kim Ha-seong has been given a hero’s welcome since arriving with the Padres. Jason Hsiao, a Taiwanese student living in Seoul, told AFP that there is a huge appetite for MLB games among Asian baseball fans.

“Around Asia, if you love baseball, then of course your dream is to go to a stadium to watch a major league game,” the 28-year-old said after the Padres’ warm-up game at Gocheok Sky Dome against South Korean team the LG Twins. “I think most people in Korea are happy for this. You can see all the clothes and the baseball jerseys. “It’s all going on.” – AFP