Shohei Ohtani Shows MLB What True Sportsmanship Is

Shohei Ohtani has won over legions of baseball fans with his consummate skill with bat and ball, as both a power hitter and pitcher. But he's also highly regarded for his deportment on and off the field. As a result, he is well on his way to becoming a new legend in Major League Baseball.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, both based in Southern California, have long been bitter National League West rivals. Their June 19 showdown at Dodger Stadium came at the tail end of a rough-and-tumble four-game series in which batters were hit a total of eight times. Ohtani was also hit on his back in the bottom of the ninth during his fifth at-bat. Many of those watching felt he was deliberately hit in retaliation for the earlier hitting of a Padres batter by a Dodgers relief pitcher. Ohtani did not pitch in the game.

Earlier, in the top of the ninth inning, a brawl broke out after the Padres batter was hit. As a result, the managers of both teams were ejected. 

Shohei Ohtani Lightens the Mood in Tension-Filled Ballpark

The ballpark erupted when Ohtani got hit. However, he calmly walked toward first base while gesturing toward the Dodgers' dugout to wave back his teammates who were ready to charge the field. Then, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face, Ohtani headed toward the Padres' dugout. There, he spoke to outfielder Bryce Johnson, who was hit by a Dodgers pitcher in the seventh inning. "How's the pain?" asked Ohtani.

That unexpected gesture brought immediate calm to the tension-filled ballpark.

In the American baseball world, where it is sometimes said that "brawls light up MLB," it took the person who had just been hit by a pitch to calm down both teams. His gesture prevented the game from being ruined. Ohtani's surprising behavior won praise from US media and celebrated former ballplayers alike.

Sports Recollections From the Past

Two scenes from the past come to mind. 

In a 1968 game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers, Sadaharu Oh was hit in the head by a pitch and carried off the field on a stretcher. The next batter, Shigeo Nagashima, who had not participated in the brawl, hit a home run even while the ambulance siren could still be heard in the distance. Nagashima's philosophy was that the play on the field should decide who got the better of the quarrel.

When asked about the news that Nagashima had passed away on June 3, Ohtani said, "He was a man filled with a deep love for baseball, and we, the active players, want to pass on that passion to the next generation."

Ohtani's thinking can be summed up in the statement, "Even if we are battling as rivals on the field, at heart we are all fellow lovers of baseball."

Another memory comes from the world of judo during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In the open-weight class final, Dutch judoka Anton Geesink unexpectedly won by ippon against Japan's ace Akio Kaminaga. Right after the decision was announced, the elated Dutch staff members began running onto the tatami mats. However, Geesink stopped them cold by raising one hand.

Geesink's action resembled Ohtani's gesture at Dodger Stadium. In both cases, a sport's giant who had come from afar did not hesitate to uphold the proper etiquette and dignity of the sport in its homeland.

Playing With a Smile

Ohtani was back in the starting lineup in the game against the Washington Nationals on June 20 with a smile on his face. And he proceeded to deliver a timely hit. 

After the game on June 19, speaking from the Padres bench, star pitcher Yu Darvish said, "We are lucky to have Shohei."

And by "we," Darvish did not just mean members of the two rival teams. Rather, he meant baseball fans everywhere, including Japan and the United States. 

Ohtani is now someone in whom everyone, everywhere, can be proud.

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(Read the Sankei column in Japanese.)

Author: The Sankei Shimbun