Shohei Ohtani Joy at the Weeks’ Household

By Bill Weeks, March 23 on medium.com

Having been born in Santa Monica, California, I haven’t known what it’s like to be from a small country. When someone from a small country accomplishes something on an international stage, it brings a sense of pride to almost everyone from that country.

So, when I married Yumiko Hirota in 2000 it was a bit like marrying into the country of Japan. Although I’d always been a Dodgers fan, (even before they came to Los Angeles), I became a fan of Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners while teaching in Japan. He’s still my favorite player.

As the fame of the baseball unicorn Shohei Ohtani spread, my wife insisted we go to an Angels game and see him for ourselves. We ended up with a couple of Angels’ tee shirts, handmade signs for our favorite player, attending three games that season (two times more as I’d gone before to any professional baseball game)…..and….wait for it….buying two season tickets for next year once we knew Ohtani would still be with the Angels.

Mike Trout, Team Captain of Team USA and Angel’s teammate of Shohei Ohtani — photo taken shortly after his famous strike out yesterday

We do Airbnb and currently have a Shaman, Jojopahmaria, staying with us on a long term basis. Jojopah, (as we call her for short), is also into baseball and tends to get a bit enthusiastic during good games. During the recent World Baseball Classic, both women were cheering on different teams. Sometimes it would be Cuba (where Yumi and I visited a few weeks ago), or Venezuela — or whoever they decided they wanted, — but when Japan or the US were playing there was no doubt who to support. That is — until they played each other.

I was working on a script about an old friend of mine from Mexico — so you can imagine for whom Miguel was rooting. Randy Arozarena, originally from Cuba, had gotten the Mexican President to expedite his Mexican citizenship so he could compete on Mexico’s team. Mike Trout, one of the best hitters in the world, accepted being team captain for Team USA. His Angel teammate, the one and only Shohei Ohtani, accepted being team captain for Banzai Japan.

Like a movie, the four teams we were most interested in made it to the semi-finals. Cuba was beaten by the US (still enforcing a ridiculous embargo) and Japan managed a comeback against Mexico.

That set the stage for the final between the US and Japan. Both women made so much noise I was afraid our new roof might come off. Yumi cheered madly when Japan made a play, but curled up in a fetal position on the couch when she felt the Japan manager was keeping a pitcher in too long. Jojopah, who has one of the most effusive laughs I’ve ever heard, was too nervous to sit down during most of the game. She paced about and let out whoops when Trout got his double and when the US made its two homers. Once in awhile they stopped and glared at one another.

“At least Japanese players don’t go around spitting all the time,” admonished Yumi.

I stopped my writing back in the bedroom whenever things got too hot. Finally, I gave up and came out to where the real action was — my living room.

I found myself cheering for the US when the team did something good, and, diplomatically, for Japan when they did something good (I’d rather not sleep alone).

Even more like a movie was the matchup between, arguably, the two best baseball players in the world today. Shohei Ohtani (who hits lots of homers and is one of the best pitchers in the world — in case you have been lost in a jungle somewhere for the last few years) and Mike Trout, the Angels best home-run hitter, faced one another for the final out of the whole tournament.

When Mighty Casey struck out the whole world erupted more spectacularly than a cherry tree forest at the height of the sakura season (happening now in Japan).

Yumiko screamed and jumped up and down. She placed another food offering on her Hina Doll display (above) and broke into a Japanese dance.

“Well,” said Jojopah dryly, “at least I’ll still have a place to live after this.” Yumi called her sister, Sanai-san, in Japan — and they had a good, heart-warming cry together.

Not only had Shohei realized his high school dream of playing in the WBC, but he saved the 3 to 2 game and was immediately selected as the most valuable player of the tournament. The most sedate Japanese were jumping up and down like wild persons on the field.

Lars Nootbar (father American, mother Japanese), normally plays for the Saint Louis Cardinals, was the lead off hitter for Japan. After the game his mother and father came out on the field. His mother had a broad smile all over her face and went about hugging and bowing to her son, husband, Shohei Ohtani, and anyone else she came near. Players and managers were hoisted over and over into the air.

Shohei naturally had to give interviews to excited broadcasters. One commentator asked him, “What planet are you from?” Through his interpreter Ohtani replied, politely, “I am from a rural area in Northern Japan (Iwate Prefecture — where the tsunami hit in 2011). It shows that you can be from a small town and still accomplish something.”

Later, in the locker room, Japanese players showered one another with champagne. All except for two players who were under 21 years of age, and wanted to respect American laws against underage drinking. The Japanese are even more proper than the English.

Before the game, Shohei had warned his teammates to not be intimidated when playing against American players who had often been their heroes. “Think of them as ordinary people you are playing against”, (loose translation).

When things eventually quieted down, I headed off to bed. Sometimes I get plagued with thoughts about my script and about 1:30 AM I got up for a drink of water. There was Yumi on the couch, watching videos on her phone — over and over again as she relived her team’s dream victory and its spotlight on the world’s stage. She was proud of being Japanese. I was proud of her.

The final game was watched by more people around the world than the last game in the World Series. Maybe someday the WCT will lead to a true World Series. Now I just wonder what will happen if Jojopah watches the Olympics with us.