The influence of Ohtani Shohei (Angels) is truly a district unit. Not only products related to the Japanese national team, but this time, even the Czech national team hat worn when entering Miami were sold out.
Ohtani is the active player with the most Instagram followers in Major League Baseball. As of the afternoon of the 20th, the number exceeded 3.76 million. Even before the WBC, he had more than 2 million followers, and more than 1 million followers increased during the tournament.
Even the Czech national team cap has seen the Ohtani effect. When Ohtani entered Miami International Airport on a chartered flight on the 17th, he appeared wearing a Czech hat, not a hat from the Japanese national team or a private sponsor company. Upon hearing this news through media reports, the Czech national team was stunned.
Besides, this hat is now a rare commodity. Rather than a sudden explosion of demand in the Czech Republic, which has a baseball population of about 10,000, it is interpreted that it gained popularity thanks to Ohtani’s use.
Popularity in Japan was explosive. Stores that sell products related to the Japanese national team have become a hotspot anywhere in the Japanese archipelago. First of all, from the Miyazaki camp last month, the ‘open run’ continued every day. Online sales also ended quickly. Cases of fraudulent purchases using ‘bots’ were discovered.
It was the same in Nagoya, where the practice match was held, and in Osaka, where the evaluation match was held. At the Tokyo Dome,토토사이트 where the finals were held, lines lined up from early in the morning to receive ticket numbers for store admission (lottery tickets). The most popular product was, of course, a uniform with Ohtani’s name on it.
Meanwhile, Ohtani has the potential to pitch as a relief pitcher if Japan advances to the final. Angels coach Phil Nevin announced that Ohtani would pitch only until the quarterfinals to start the opening game and only play as a batter, but he showed his motivation, saying that Ohtani would like to throw one more time.
In this tournament, Ohtani has an average ERA of 2.08 with 2 runs in 8⅔innings in 2 games as a pitcher and 7 hits in 16 at-bats in 5 games as a hitter (a batting average of 0.438 (1 home run and 7 RBIs). In the group stage, he was selected as Group B MVP.