TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani gave the people just what they came to see.
Should we be surprised that he was able to rise to the moment, playing in his home country for the first time since the 2023 World Baseball Classic?
“Nope,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “I’m surprised it took until his second at-bat, to be honest.
“The game is too easy for him.”
The opportunity to see Ohtani and the rest of the World Series champion Dodgers face the Yomiuri Giants brought 42,064 fans out to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night. They cheered as Ohtani stepped to the plate in the first inning, then hung on every pitch and erupted in excitement over a foul ball as Ohtani worked a walk.
Two innings later, he jumped on a first-pitch curveball, hitting a two-run home run in a 5-1 exhibition-game victory.
“With so many fans in the stands, it really felt like I’ve come back after a long time,” Ohtani said in a brief interview in Japanese outside the Dodgers’ clubhouse. “I think it was a great at-bat.”
It was exactly what was expected of the three-time MVP and national hero.
“It’s really amazing,” Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto said. “In every big moment, he seems to give everyone what they want to see. Like in spring training, his first at-bat he hits a home run. You just had a feeling he’d go out and do it for the fans tonight and he did.”
Conforto is new to this. Ohtani’s ability to rise to the occasion stretches back well before this spring.
He also hit a home run in his first spring game last year – his first game in a Dodgers uniform – then went out over the course of his debut season with the Dodgers and hit home runs in even bigger moments like the All-Star Game, one of his bobblehead nights and his first career playoff game.
He hit a walkoff grand slam to reach the 40-40 plateau last season then, historically, hit three home runs in the game that made him the first 50-50 player in MLB history.
“He always seems to rise to certain occasions, expectations to put on a performance. And once again he delivered,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.
“Obviously it was a big, big game for the people in Japan. But I didn’t see anything different in how he prepared, his demeanor. But he just has the ability, when there’s expectations for him to do something special, he always seems to come through.”
