An amazing player appears than Ohtani? Historian's Proclaims This is the Golden Age of Japanese Baseball

Mar 23, 2025

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the fifth inning in Game 2 of the opening series against the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome on the 19th. AP Yonhap News

LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (from left), Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Rocky Sasaki smile broadly as they pose side by side after winning Game 2 of the Tokyo Series on the 19th. AP Yonhap News

In the history of the Major League, Japanese power has never been as strong as it is these days.

Since Hideo Nomo joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 and won the Rookie of the Year award with his tornado pitching form, many Japanese stars have commanded the Major League Baseball.

As pitchers, Kazuhisa Ishii, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hiroki Kuroda, Yu Darvish, and Masahiro Tanaka entered the Major League and reached the top, and recently ace pitchers such as Kenta Maeda, Yusei Kikuchi, Godai Senga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and Roki Sasaki have embarked on the conquest of the top.

Although the batter's category is relatively poor, Suzuki Ichiro, who joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and created a .300, 200 hits and gold glove for the 10th consecutive year, entered the Hall of Fame in July, and Matsui Hideki also played as the center hitter for the New York Yankees, hitting 175 home runs.

Tani Shohei is moving in response to the cheers of the crowd after winning the second game of the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs on the 19th. UPI Yonhap News

No matter what anyone says, the best star from Japan is Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, who joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, has been writing history by playing both pitching and hitting since 2021. Last year, he moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers and achieved his first 50 home runs and 50 steals, and won his third MVP by unanimous decision.

The opening series against the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome from the 18th to the 19th (Korean time) was like a stage for Ohtani. It has been proven that he is receiving absolute support and cheers from baseball fans not only in Japan but also around the world. It is no exaggeration to say that Ohtani transferred the heyday of Japanese baseball to the continental United States.

In this regard, the U.S. sports media The Athletic highlighted the history of Japanese players' conquest of Major League Baseball on the 18th under the title `From Osada Haru to Ohtani, and After: How Japanese Baseball Has Reached Its New Peak.'

Reporter Fabian Ardaya, who wrote the article, said, `It's been 30 years since Nomo signed with the Dodgers and came to the U.S., and 24 years since Ichiro joined Seattle and won the MVP and Rookie of the Year at the same time, changing the traditional American perception of Japanese batters.' They opened the golden era of Japanese baseball. Ohtani is the greatest baseball player in the world, and Ichiro will be the first Japanese to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. Last week's Tokyo series demonstrated Japan's influence on baseball'I evaluated it.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts encourages starting pitcher Rocky Sasaki after winning Game 2 of the Tokyo Series on the 19th. AP Yonhap News

Dodgers President Andrew Friedman, who began his front-row career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2004, said "Over the last 20 years, players in the U.S. have gotten a lot better. But I don't think Japan is any different. I think it has grown in size. "Even now, quite a lot of Japanese pitchers are showing off their talents. There were many good players before. I didn't recognize the true value at that time"He evaluated the improvement in the quality of Japanese baseball.

Cubs Japanese batter Seiya Suzuki also said, `We expect many Japanese players to come to the U.S. to continue their challenge in the future.'

Following Sasaki this year, Yakult Swallows giant Murakami Munetaka is expected to knock on the major league stage next year. Stanford University giant Rintaro Sasaki and Athletics minor leaguer Shotaro Mori are also considered promising Japanese players who crossed the Pacific Ocean immediately without playing NPB.

Murakami Munetaka is planning to advance to the Major League after this season. Sports Chosun DB

Representative NPB historian Ito Novi said in an interview with the media that `I think over the next 50, 100 years (Japanese baseball) will be much better. I have no doubt that there will be players who are better than Ohtani. "You can ask whether current Japanese baseball is a golden age, but of course it is a golden age. But it's getting better and better", he predicted.

When Nomo conquered Major League Baseball 30 years ago, Major League Baseball was surprised by its freshness. Major League Baseball was in shock when Ichiro was named MVP. When Ohtani was named MVP of both pitching and hitting, Major League Baseball paid tribute to Japanese baseball. What kind of player will appear if he wants to be better than Ohtani.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.