How Shohei Ohtani became Japan's biggest baseball export
The photo above is from Getty Images.
Shohei Ohtani, a renowned baseball player from Japan, has achieved a historical feat by agreeing to a deal worth $700m (£558m) with the LA Dodgers. This contract has broken all previous records in the baseball world.
Despite having undergone a recent operation on his elbow, the Dodgers still decided to offer a colossal 10-year agreement. This deal surpasses Mike Trout's 12-year contract, which was signed in 2019 and was formerly the most significant agreement in the Major League Baseball (MLB).
The 29-year-old athlete who's known as "Shotime" is a superstar. His fans think he's the "best player ever" and they call him a "unicorn". They say that he reminds them of Babe Ruth because he's good at hitting and pitching during the same game.
In the previous month, he was selected as the most valuable player for the second time ever since the year 2021. What sets apart this accomplishment is that he got the votes of every single individual involved on both occasions, which has never happened before in MLB history.
When Ohtani was 18, he started his career as a professional baseball player with Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. His boss back then was Hideki Kuriyama, who coached the Japanese team to triumph in the World Baseball Classic championship. The two were recently brought together again.
He has become more famous worldwide than other Japanese athletes who transferred to America earlier, like Ichiro Suzuki, Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish, and Masahiro Tanaka.
Apart from Ohtani's impressive baseball abilities, his wholesome persona and absence of scandalous or tabloid-worthy publicity surrounding his personal life have made him highly sought after by advertisers and marketers.
The young baseball talent is famously selective when it comes to things to do apart from the game, to make sure that nothing gets in the way of his passion.
According to Robert Whiting, a baseball writer with extensive knowledge of Japanese baseball, Ohtani has a distinctive quality that sets him apart from others. He does not indulge in drinking or smoking, nor does he hold material possessions in high regard. This contributes to his overall appeal and magnetism.
Amidst a game where many players are driven by a desire for riches and a sense of deservingness, he stands out as a sincere and dedicated individual - a fighter monk, if you will - whose sole objective is to excel as the greatest baseball player of all time.
It is clear that Ohtani left Japan for the United States in 2017 when he was 23 years old. He signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels for six years, earning $545,000 each year. However, he was actually worth far more than $200 million at the time.
MLB's regulations state that a foreign player who is under 25 years old can only qualify for the minimum salary, which can also contribute to the deficit.
"Ohtani became a member of the Angels team back in 2017."
However, Ohtani has been consistently making a lot of money. Forbes reports that his endorsements have increased from $6 million last year to a minimum of $35 million this year. When combined with his salary, Ohtani's estimated earnings for the 2023 season is around $65 million, setting yet another record in MLB.
Similarly, his team generates millions of dollars in revenue annually through the sale of merchandise and tickets. This income stream is directly influenced by the performance and popularity of the team.
According to Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an economist from Kansai University, Ohtani will have a considerable economic influence on the 2023 season, projected to be around 50.4 billion yen, which converts to an estimated $342 million or £272 million. This amount includes 1.2 billion yen, which is what tourists from Japan are expected to spend when coming to the United States to watch Ohtani play. In addition, Japanese businesses are likely to have spent around 1 billion yen on advertising at Angel Stadium.
Prof Miyamoto stated that it is unfathomable for a single athlete to create such tremendous financial influence. He compared it to the moment when a celebrated Japanese baseball team emerges victorious in the Japan Series.
The source of the image is Getty Images.
To win the global baseball tournament, Ohtani scored a strikeout against the captain of the American team.
For nearly three decades, Japanese baseball stars have been quietly making their mark in the American market as a valuable export asset.
Back in 1995, a player named Hideo Nomo, also known as "Tornado", made history by becoming the initial Japanese player to play for an MLB team.
Back in the time when smartphones weren't easily accessible, his followers located in Japan would assemble in open areas to witness his performance on large monitors because of the time zone difference.
In the past, American sports arenas had an unexplainable policy against Japanese language advertisements being displayed on their signage. However, this has recently changed as more Japanese athletes have entered the scene.
The individuals and organizations invested in the United States took notice of how Japanese corporations are willing to invest large sums of money to promote their brands and products in the largest economy in the world. The marketers were also interested in being regarded as promoters of the sport to Japanese audiences.
Apart from the financial aspect, the baseball celebrities played a crucial role in improving the relationship between the United States and Japan.
According to Mr. Whiting, during Nomo's arrival to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the relationship between the two countries was at an all-time low that hadn't been seen since World War II.
Products from Japan, such as cameras, cars, and televisions, were plentifully available in North America as well as in other parts of the world, resulting in a great disparity in trade.
During the mid-90s, US policy makers were discontented with the quantity of goods imported from Japan, which is quite similar to the ongoing trade disputes between the US and China at the moment.
According to Mr. Whiting's recollection, during that time, the New York Times had written that Nomo was the sole Japanese export that no one in America was expressing dissatisfaction about.
Currently, the relationship between the United States and Japan is much friendlier, but what has truly resonated with Ohtani's fellow players and fans in America is his modest demeanor.
Since Major League Baseball (MLB) has accepted the finest baseball talent from Japan, it seems that the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Japan's local baseball league, has been affected negatively.
According to Mr. Whiting, NPB is solely responsible for the situation.
As opposed to the United States, where operating a baseball team is a commercial enterprise, in Japan, firms purchase teams to promote their brand and do not utilize the additional funds to further develop the teams, according to him.
During the 1990s, the total income generated by baseball in Japan was approximately equivalent to that of the United States. However, presently, Major League Baseball enjoys a total income of $10 billion, whereas the Nippon Professional Baseball's total income is less than $2 billion.
MLB's triumph mostly comes from their bold approach in marketing by broadening media rights sales, showcasing merchandise, collaborating with sponsors and constructing modern stadium structures.
MLB is becoming even more challenging for aspiring Japanese athletes.
At the start of the 2023 MLB season, almost one-third of the league's best players (28.5%) were from countries other than the US. The top performers were mainly from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba.
However, Ohtani has already shattered numerous records despite being at the beginning of his professional journey.
Shotime's initial professional manager, Hideki Kuriyama, had been nurturing his career as a two-way player despite harsh feedback. He recently expressed assurance that Shotime would enhance his abilities and amaze us even further.
Therefore, due to the prospect of bigger achievements, businesses will desire to use Ohtani's triumphs for their own advantage while Japanese supporters will be eager to journey across to America to fill up the sports arenas and see him perform.
