Japan reacted with incredulity and pride on Friday (Sep 20) after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami.
“We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo.
“We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further.”
The landmark dominated Japanese morning news shows and social media.
Newspapers rushed out special editions in Tokyo and elsewhere, including in Ohtani’s hometown in the northern Iwate region.
“As a fellow Iwate native, I’m proud of him,” one woman handed a special copy of the local paper told broadcaster NHK.
