By Irene Wang
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese baseball fans rushed to grab the latest newspaper editions on Friday after Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player.
Ohtani earned all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, picking up a third unanimous MVP award following wins in 2021 and 2023.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was named the winner of the American League’s MVP award, also in a unanimous vote.
Outside a chilly railway station in downtown Tokyo, newspaper publishers distributed extra print editions to passersby, who queued up to get copies featuring flashy headlines and Ohtani’s game photos.
“He is our pride,” said 60-year-old retiree Sachie Tsujimura outside the railway station. “I hope he’ll keep getting better next year.”
Yoshio Inoue, a 20-year-old university student, had waited for more than an hour before staff began handing out the newspapers at the station, eager to collect as many extra editions as possible.
“Frankly speaking, I think he is amazing,” Inoue said, carrying a newspaper plastered with red and yellow characters saying, “Ohtani MVP.”
Japanese TV stations, including public broadcaster NHK, interrupted regular programming to report on Ohtani’s win.
His performances have become a regular feature of morning TV news programmes in Japan, brightening up the start of the day for baseball fans and beyond.
“I think more (Japanese) players will learn from Ohtani,” said 32-year-old engineer Kohei Nakamura, standing outside another railway station. “He is capable of many things, so I think the players with a variety of skills (like him) will perform well.”
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the Japanese government’s top spokesperson, congratulated Ohtani on his achievement and said he was looking forward to seeing more success for the player.
Fans will also be able to buy a set of commemorative stamps marking Ohtani’s MVP award, with Japan Post putting them on sale at post offices nationwide and at its online shop.
The five stamps will also come with a file folder and a towel printed with statistics of all Ohtani’s at-bats and home runs from this year’s regular season. The collection will cost 7,260 yen ($46.89) per set.
Widely considered one of the greatest two-way players in baseball history, the 30-year-old joined the Dodgers on a record 10-year, $700 million deal at the end of last year but elbow surgery prevented him from pitching this season.
He made up for it with his batting, finishing the season with a career-high 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases to become the first member of Major League Baseball’s 50/50 club.
($1 = 154.8300 yen)
(Reporting by Irene Wang; Writing by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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