TOKYO (AP) 鈥 Shohei Ohtani鈥檚 feat of becoming the first major leaguer with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season was met with extra editions of newspapers for fans to read on their way to work on Friday morning in Japan.
Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone as he hit three homes and stole two bases in a game during the 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday, securing a playoff berth for the Dodgers.
The news topped morning headlines, and 鈥淥htani-san鈥 was the No. 1 trending topic of social media platform X.
There was also praise from the Japanese government.
鈥淲e would like to express our heartfelt congratulations on his achievement of this giant record,鈥 Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said as he responded to the first question at his regular news conference Friday. 鈥淲e look forward to seeing more successes from Ohtani, who has already achieve numerous feats and pioneered new grounds."
Ohtani, who debuted in Major League Baseball in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels, has become Japan's national icon and pride.
Yu Tachibana, a 44-year-old office worker, was a lucky one to get a copy of the special newspaper edition for her 18-year-old son who plays baseball. She says nobody had thought a Japanese player would so well a decade ago. 鈥淚t is very encouraging," she said, as she noted a saying where there is a will, there is a way.
A wave of congratulatory messages were posted on social media.
鈥淛apan鈥檚 record-making machine has done it again," U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in his message on X. 鈥淐ongratulations to Shohei Ohtani on an incredible baseball achievement. A true global ambassador of the game.鈥
___
AP MLB:
