Japanese national baseball player Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), who returned to Japan to compete in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), literally drove a cloud of Japanese fans.
Fans gathered near the stadium to see Ohtani on his way to work from 9:00 am, 9 hours before the start of the WBC official evaluation match between Japan and Hanshin Tigers held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 6th.메이저놀이터
Osaka citizens who did not want to miss the rare opportunity to see Ohtani’s game in person bought all the tickets for the Japanese national team’s evaluation match early on, and a notice saying ‘on-site tickets are not available’ was posted outside the stadium.
After the evaluation match between the Korean baseball team and the Orix Buffaloes, which started at noon, when the Japanese national team players appeared on the ground, the sluggish Kyocera Dome quickly became crowded.
And when Ohtani entered the batting cage for batting practice, the crowd greeted the Japanese baseball hero with applause and cheers.
Every time Ohtani’s practice bat landed in the outfield crowd, the crowd cheered and cheered with applause after the batting practice was over.
Ohtani, who started as designated hitter No. 3 in the Hanshin Match, hit two homers with a tremendous distance, just like in batting practice.
Ohtani, who struck out in the first at-bat in the first inning, launched a three-run home run over the middle wall against Hanshin starter Hiroto Saiki in the third inning, with two outs on first and second base, with the team leading 1-0.
Saiki threw a forkball with the ball count in his favor, but Ohtani followed the ball accurately and knelt down to scoop it up.
It was a perfect swing combining power and skill.
Ohtani looked at the dugout and turned the bases with a broad smile, and the crowd who watched Ohtani’s home run cheered.
In the next at-bat, Ohtani also made a great batting ball.
In the 5th inning, leading 4-1, with 2 outs, 1st and 2nd base, this time, after a full count match with left-handed pitcher Tomita Ren, he crossed the middle wall again without missing a high fastball to the side.
The Japanese pitcher’s tricky forkball and the left-handed pitcher’s ball passed the fence regardless.
It is also an unpleasant scene for pitchers of the Korean national baseball team, who have to play the second group game against Japan on the 10th.
Ohtani, who showed off his strength with two homers from his first evaluation match, was replaced with a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and finished the game.
Ohtani said through the WBC secretariat, “I was worried that I could hit properly because my condition wasn’t 100% because of the time difference, but fortunately I had a good swing.”
He also expressed satisfaction with his second home run, saying, “After a full count match, I hit a home run in consecutive hits.”
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