OSHU: Fans and others in Japan rejoiced and were excited over Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s new milestone–becoming the first-ever Major League Baseball player hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in a single regular season.

In the city of Oshu in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate, Ohtani’s hometown, Hironobu Kanno, 63, was watching Thursday’s game between the Dodgers and the Miami Marlins in Miami, in which the 30-year-old Japanese player achieved the feat, on television while preparing to begin Friday’s operation of a beauty salon he runs.

“I didn’t expect him to raise the scores all at once today,” said Kanno, who represents a private fan club of Ohtani. “It’s too great,” he said, adding, “People in Oshu are proud of Ohtani.” After reaching the 50-50 feat, Ohtani even hit his 51st home run and secured his 51st stolen base of the season in the same game.

“It’s amazing,” said Yoshimi Sugawara, 76, a resident of the city’s Mizusawaanetai district, where the elementary school attended by Ohtani is located. “We’re happy as a local community.” Sugawara said that he will travel to the United States next week to watch a Dodgers game. “I want to cheer up (Ohtani) with gratitude.”

“I had thought it might be difficult for Ohtani to reach (the new milestone) because there are not many games left (in the 2024 regular season), so it’s wonderful,” said Yasunori Moriya, a 77-year-old corporate worker in the northern Japan city of Sapporo, which previously hosted the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, a Japanese professional baseball team.

“I hope he’ll play also as a pitcher again and do his best,” Moriya said.

Ohtani belonged to the Fighters before moving to the United States to play first for the Los Angeles Angels and then for the Dodgers.

Kota Takahashi, 21, who graduated from a high school located near the one attended by Ohtani, said, “I feel close (to Ohtani), but he’s out of my league.”

A shop in Tokyo that handles goods from Iwate put on a lucky bag priced at 5,050 yen on sale.

Takumi Konno, 53, who works at the Iwate prefectural government’s Tokyo office, expressed joy, noting that a native of Iwate has become “a world-class star.” Konno showed expectations for Ohtani to continue to play while being careful not to suffer injuries as he may be able to score 60 home runs and 60 stolen bases this season.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary HAYASHI Yoshimasa told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday that Ohtani set the 50-50 milestone “with surprising speed.”

“I hope that Ohtani, who has achieved many successes and broken new ground, will continue doing more,” the top government spokesman added.

JIJI Press