Fans Rejoice As Shohei Ohtani Is Introduced As An LA Dodger. What It Means To The Japanese Diaspora

Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani made his first public appearance as a Dodger on Thursday after signing a megadeal earlier in the week.

Keeping the No. 17 he wore with his last team, the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani put on a white and blue jersey with his number at an introduction event at Dodger Stadium Thursday.

"I can't wait to join the Dodgers," Shohei said, speaking through his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "They share the same passion as me, have a vision and history all about winning, and I share the same values."

It was the first time the former Angels player has spoken publicly since signing a 10-year, $700-million contract after becoming a free agent in the offseason. The previous largest deal was inked in 2019 by Ohtani's now-former teammate Mike Trout on the Angels, which was for $426.5 million over 12 years.

What the move means for LA's Japanese diaspora

Ohtani's move to L.A. is seismic news across Dodgerland, but his arrival carries special excitement for the area's large Japanese diaspora.

The fact that a Japanese athlete is now the highest-paid player in major league baseball — well, in any U.S. sport — isn't lost on Greg Toya. He told LAist he’s bursting with pride as a third-generation Japanese American and life-long Dodgers fan. So is his 92-year-old father, who Toya now plans to take to a Dodgers game so he can see Ohtani.

Greg Toya (l.) poses with friends at Angel Stadium in Anaheim while wearing No. 17 on his cap — Shohei Ohtani's number.

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Courtesy of Greg Toya

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Greg Toya (l.) and his friend LAist Senior Editor George Kiriyama enjoy a Dodgers-Angels game at Dodger Stadium on July 8, 2023

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Courtesy of George Kiriyama

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"Shohei Ohtani being Japanese is an important and vital part of our Asian American diaspora that needs to be celebrated and I definitely celebrate," Toya said.

The Dodgers organization has had ties to Japan going back decades. Ohtani is the eleventh in a line of Japanese-born players to wear Dodger blue, starting with Hideo Nomo in 1995. The two-way talent will play for manager Dave Roberts who was born in Japan to an Okinawan mother and U.S. Marine father.

Ohtani’s importance to Japanese and Japanese Americans was evident at a media-only introduction ceremony on Thursday for Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. Japanese-language outlets from both Japan and the U.S. had a large presence in the centerfield plaza watching Ohtani take off his blazer to don his new jersey.

Aspiring to be Shohei

Toya, a dean at Santa Ana College, said growing up, Asian American role models in professional sports were few and far between. But now everyone aspires to be Shohei. In the first 48 hours after his No. 17 jersey dropped, sales surpassed those for soccer star Lionel Messi.

Fans of the Blue Crew are hoping more stars from Japan will join Ohtani on the mound. Ohtani's contract is for a blockbuster $700-million dollars over 10 years. However, he is deferring all but $2 million a year to free up the Dodgers to court top talent like Japanese free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Yuma Asakura reported from the introduction ceremony for Ohtani. He covers the Japanese American community in Orange County and said there's sadness that Ohtani left the Angels. But he said fans want the two-time MVP award winner to secure a title.

"He wanted to win. Yeah, so I think that is the best," Asakura said.

Tatsuo Mori, president of LaLaLa, a Japanese-language publication holds up a recent front page.

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Josie Huang

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LAist

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The throughline to Hideo Nomo

Tatsuo Mori, another Japanese-language journalist at the introduction event, said that the Dodgers hold a special place among Japanese baseball fans because Los Angeles is where Nomo debuted.

“We remember how the Dodgers took care of Nomo,” Mori said.

Toya, the college dean, said Nomo broke ground for all Japanese players in the U.S. — walking so Ohtani can run.

“Shohei is in his own class,” said Toya who thinks the player has already outpaced Babe Ruth. “In the future, people will be saying ‘Oh, he's like Shohei.'”