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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Shohei Ohtani: a Japanese baseball star so loved even Koreans flock to him

Shohei Ohtani Japan Baseball Dodgers MLB South Korea
Shohei Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers are in South Korea as they start the Major League Baseball season
Shohei Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers are in South Korea as they start the Major League Baseball season. Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

The sport is American, the venue South Korean. But when the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres open the Major League Baseball season with two games in Seoul this week, all eyes will be on a Japanese superstar: Shohei Ohtani.

It says much about Ohtani’s singular appeal that South Korean baseball fans are as excited about his imminent presence in the batter’s box at Gocheok Sky Dome as his legions of admirers in Japan.

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