Where's Ohtani? Dodgers Players Snuck Out, Hundreds of Fans Were Worried at Haneda Airport
Mar 13, 2025
|
|
The Dodgers left the Arizona Spring Training Camp on the 13th and arrived in Tokyo, Japan, to prepare for the opening two consecutive regular season games against the Chicago Cubs, that is, the Tokyo Series. The Dodgers and Cubs will hold the opening two consecutive games at Tokyo Dome from the 18th to the 19th.
In an interview at Phoenix Airport before departing for Japan, manager Dave Roberts said, `I'm very excited. I had an opening series in Seoul last year, so I think I'm used to the Asian atmosphere. "It's a great opportunity to show our game and our Japanese players to the Japanese fans with the Cubs. We look forward to an enthusiastic welcome from Tokyo fans." They are great, kind and generous. I'm also waiting for delicious Japanese food" he said.
Roberts then said, "Hideo Nomo and Ichiro Suzuki, who entered the Hall of Fame this year, are from Japan, and three Japanese players will visit Tokyo on our team. It will be a historic moment for Japanese baseball as well."
|
Perhaps because of this, hundreds of Japanese fans flocked to the departure hall at Haneda Airport, where a chartered plane carrying Dodgers players landed. However, he could not see Ohtani and other Dodgers players. This is because I left the airport through another passage prepared by the airport in case of an accident.
In a related development, the AP reported that hundreds of fans waiting at Haneda Airport lined up more than 10 to see Shohei Ohtani, but no one could see Ohtani and his colleagues. All they saw was a 130-foot-long white temporary wall designed to protect the players if they passed through the arrival hall. The day before, the Cubs players arrived at the airport and enjoyed this atmosphere' he said.
In other words, the Cubs players, who arrived first the day before, left the airport to be welcomed by fans through the arrival hall, not through a secret passage.
|
The Dodgers boast unrivaled popularity in Japan. It is because of Japanese superstars, including Ohtani, but many Japanese players have a wide fan base because of an era in the Dodgers. Of course, Ohtani is at the peak of its popularity. This means that the Dodgers and the airport have provided a way to sneak out to protect the players.
When the Dodgers arrived at Incheon International Airport in March last year to play the Seoul Series, the opening two consecutive regular-season games against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani left the airport with his wife, Mamiko Tadaka, welcoming and camera flashes from numerous fans.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
