The World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the celebration extends to Japan.
People gathered around train stations in Tokyo Thursday morning as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a thrilling victory in game five of the World Series over the New York Yankees.
“I want to thank my Japanese fans for following me all the way this season,” Ohtani said on Japanese television. “Those encouragements gave me some energy, so I’m grateful to pay it forward by winning.”
Free newspaper distribution is a tradition in Tokyo when Japan celebrates a big event. And this is a huge one for a country whose players were once considered too small, or only good pitchers.
Now, there is strong pride in the fact that their players are among the best in the sport.
Japan defeated the United States in the final of the World Baseball Classic last year in Miami, another sign of the country’s strength in the “American pastime.”
The World Series crowning was also a victory for Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan — Oshu — where fans have been gathering all week and anticipating that their superstar hero would help clinch the title.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
