Dodgers players such as Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto arrived in South Korea on the afternoon of the 15th, ahead of the opening series between the Dodgers and Padres in Major League Baseball, which will be held in Seoul, South Korea on the 20th and 21st of this month. .
Condition upon arrival in Korea
At around 2:30 pm on the 15th, a chartered plane carrying Dodgers players such as Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto arrived at Incheon Airport in South Korea.
Amidst the crowd of fans and reporters waiting, Otani was the first to arrive at the arrival lobby with a woman who was introduced as his wife on social media, and there was a huge cheer.
Pitcher Yamamoto also responded to the cheers of the fans with a smile on his face as the group headed to Seoul by bus.
Prior to this, Padres players such as pitcher Yu Darvish and pitcher Hiroki Matsui also arrived in South Korea in the early hours of the 15th.
Both teams are preparing for the opening series, which will be held on the 20th and 21st of this month at Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea's only domed stadium in Seoul, while playing special games against South Korean teams. We are planning to move forward with this.
Posters of players at baseball stadiums, etc. Voices of expectation for the opening game
At Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where the opening game between Major League Baseball's Dodgers and Padres will be held on the 20th of this month, photos of players from both teams, including Shohei Ohtani, are displayed on the walkway leading to the stadium. Banners have been set up, and huge posters are also hung on the walls of the dome.
A woman in her 20s who was passing by the stadium said, ``I'm looking forward to the start of the Major League Baseball in Korea.I hope it will be an interesting game.''
A university student in his 20s said, ``I support Otani. I hope he comes to Korea and hits one home run.''
In addition, large posters for the opening game were displayed on main streets in central Seoul.
Furthermore, an apparel shop in Myeong-dong, a popular tourist destination for foreign tourists, had a corner with Dodgers and Padres related products, which was visited by Japanese tourists and others.
A Japanese male customer said, ``I think Otani and pitcher Darvish, who worked together at the WBC World Baseball Classic last year, will clash in the opening game, so I'm really looking forward to it.''
Major renovation of the stadium ahead of the opening series
Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea's only domed baseball stadium located in the southwest of the capital, Seoul, has a seating capacity of over 16,000 people and underwent extensive renovations ahead of this opening series.
According to the City of Seoul, in consultation with Major League Baseball groundskeepers, the artificial turf has been completely replaced, the lighting has been changed to LED to make it brighter, and the locker rooms used by the players have also been renovated.
On the other hand, as it is expected that a large number of fans will flock to the stadium during the series, every possible measure will be taken to ensure safety, including deploying approximately 400 security guards inside and outside the stadium, more than three times as many as for a normal game. .
Official Major League game for the first time in Korea
The Padres, who will play their opening series in Seoul, have two Korean players: infielder Kim Ha-seong and pitcher Ko Woo-seok, who transferred from a Korean professional baseball team this season. Masu.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, are a team with deep ties to South Korea, with South Korea's first major leaguer, Park Chan-ho, having been with the team since 1994, the year before Hideo Nomo made his debut.
This is the first time that an official Major League Baseball game will be held in South Korea, and due to the popularity of Shohei Ohtani, there is a lot of attention.Tickets for the opening game on the 20th of this month went on sale on the official website in January this year. It sold out in just eight minutes, demonstrating the high level of interest.
Additionally, there have been posts on social networking sites where people are reselling the tickets at higher prices than the original price, but the organizers do not allow resale and have said that they will thoroughly verify the person's identity when entering the venue.
Korean media all praise Otani
On the 13th, Korean media reported all the images that Shohei Otani posted on his SNS before arriving in Korea.
In the image, Otani, wearing a uniform, is making a heart shape with his fingers, a pose that is said to have originated in Korea, and the South Korean flag is displayed in the upper left.
Regarding this, headlines in Korean newspapers included the leading conservative newspaper JoongAng Ilbo saying, ``Fan service is also special,'' and the progressive Hankyoreh newspaper saying, ``Otani is serious about his Korean fans.'' All are reported favorably.
Online articles from various media outlets have all commented on Otani, saying things like, ``He is a great athlete who may or may not appear in 100 years,'' and ``Athletes in our country should learn from Otani's politeness and dignity.'' is praised.
Books related to Otani available at a bookstore in Seoul
Large bookstores in Seoul are lined with books introducing Shohei Otani's history and thoughts on baseball.
The author of ``Life Is Like Otani,'' which was released last week, is Han Seong-yun, a reporter who has covered sports for 27 years for South Korean public broadcaster KBS.
Mr. Han, who has long been a big fan of Japanese high school baseball and had been paying attention to Otani since he was a high school student, said that when he covered the match between Japan and South Korea at last year's WBC = World Baseball Classic, Mr. After seeing his behavior, I started thinking about writing this book.
What was particularly impressive was the way Otani bowed to the Korean players after the match.
Reporter Han said, ``Although the game ended in a one-sided victory for Japan, it was the first time in my career as a sports reporter that I had seen players greet each other with such seriousness and courtesy. Mr. Otani is able to show such consideration. I wrote the book because I thought that even people who don't like baseball can learn a lot from it."
Regarding the opening game to be held on the 20th of this month, reporter Han said, ``Since the distance to the dome fence is close, I think Otani's power will allow him to hit a lot of home runs.At least one in the two days of the opening game. I hope he hits a home run,'' he said, hoping for a home run from Otani.