Title: Caught in the Thrill: Japanese Reporters Chase Every Shohei Ohtani Home Run Ball
Tracking Shohei Ohtani's Home Runs: A Look at Japanese Media's Pursuit of His Homerun Balls
On a Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Shohei Ohtani connected for his 22nd home run of the season, a crucial blow that reduced the deficit in an eventual 8-5 victory over the New York Yankees. As Ohtani completed his home-run trot, Taro Abe, a writer for Japan's Chunichi Sports newspaper, sprang into action.
"Let's go," Abe called out in Japanese, leading a pack of his colleagues. They were on a mission: Find the lucky fan who had snagged Ohtani's souvenir. This wasn't just any ordinary home run; it was an Ohtani home run, and in Japan, that meant it was treasure.
Whenever Ohtani hits a home run, a team of Japanese reporters springs into action. This practice began a couple of years ago, while he was still playing for the Angels. The appetite for Ohtani content in Japan was insatiable, but the two-way player started speaking to reporters only after games in which he pitched. Naoyuki Yanagihara of Sports Nippon and Masaya Kotani of Full Count came up with a solution for their problem: They started interviewing the fans who caught his home-run balls.
The feature was well received by their readers and gradually spread to other publications. Now, whether the ball lands in a bullpen or any other inaccessible spot, a group of Japanese reporters will be there to snag the story.
This time, Yanagihara and Kotani weren't present, but other representatives from their respective publications joined Abe in the quest. One of them, Michi Murayama of Sports Hochi, looked at me curiously.
"You're coming?" she asked.
Abe joked, "He's coming to write how ridiculous the Japanese media is."
As we journeyed through the carpeted hallway by the suites down the first-base line, Abe turned around, seeking input on who had caught the ball. No one had any leads.
Before departing from the press box, reporters usually study replays of the homer to find identifying features of the ballhawk. But in this case, the scramble for the ball was obscured by a short barrier that separated a television cameraman from the crowd.
Undeterred, Abe led the pack out of an exit near the Stadium Club and into the loge level. There, we heard a familiar cheer: "Fre-ddie! Fre-ddie!" The reporters stopped to watch the game, celebrating Freeman's double that reduced the Dodgers' deficit to one.
After a brief interlude, it was time to resume the pursuit. The veteran Murayama noticed they weren't making progress and soon found herself in the middle of the pavilion, guiding her junior counterparts. Eventually, she sent us down to the Home Run Seats, where the ball had actually been found.
A 14-year-old eighth-grader named Fischer Luginbuhl from Monrovia held the ball aloft with pride, conveying his excitement with the words, "It's like the best thing that's ever happened to me."
While the reporters worked together to tell Fischer's story, they were also in competition with each other to post it first. Murayama wrote her story on her phone as she walked. Ueno sent audio of the six-minute interview to the Full Count offices in Japan, where an English-speaking reporter used the quotes to craft a story.
As we returned to the press box, the announcer boomed, "Shohei Ohtani!" Abe sighed and braced for another chase.
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If there's a specific tradition or practice related to Shohei Ohtani's home-run balls in Japan, it might not be widely documented or recognized outside of local Japanese media. Typically, such practices would begin as a way to engage fans and create a sense of community around an athlete's achievements. Through this collective pursuit, the Japanese media not only fulfills their responsibility to deliver fresh content but also ensures the stories are told through the eyes of the fans who live and breathe Ohtani's every swing.
- Japanese reporters, such as those from Sports Nippon and Full Count, start interviewing fans who catch Shohei Ohtani's home-run balls, a practice initiated a couple of years ago.
- This tradition began while Ohtani was still playing for the Angels, as there was an insatiable appetite for Ohtani content in Japan.
- The practice extended beyond Sports Nippon and Full Count, with other publications adopting the strategy as well.
- Today, whether the home-run ball lands in a bullpen or any other inaccessible spot, a group of Japanese reporters will be there to snag the story.
