Shohei Ohtani home run at Tokyo Dome delivers yet another moment seemingly on command
TOKYO—Shohei Ohtani produced on command.
Again.
Just as he did when he played in the World Baseball Classic. Just as he did when he reached the 40- and 50-homer milestones last season. Just as he did in his first playoff game with the Dodgers.
Technically, the game in which Shohei Ohtani played on Saturday night was an exhibition game.
In reality, it was more than that.
Many of the fans who packed the Tokyo Dome paid hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to watch the Dodgers play the Yomiuri Giants. Tickets for the game were selling on the secondary market for upwards of $600.
Years from now, people who weren’t here will claim they were. The people who actually were here won’t be complaining about the outrageous ticket prices.
Moments are what stay with fans, and Ohtani delivered another in the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory.
On his second at-bat of his first game wearing a major league uniform in his home country, Ohtani was thrown a curveball by Giants right-hander Shosei Togo that remained over the plate.
Ohtani pounced on the mistake, launching the ball halfway up the right-field stands.
“It went up at a good angle, so even though it was a little off with the end [of the bat], I thought it would get in,” Ohtani said in Japanese.
In person, the people here witnessed scenes with which they had become familiar on television.
The waving of both hands in the direction of the bench as he rounded the bases.
The tossing of sunflower seeds by Teoscar Hernández.
Ohtani knew the game counted, even though it didn’t.
“So many people came,” he said, “even though it was an exhibition.”
