Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani said on Saturday (March 16) he was excited to receive international attention and play in his first opening series in South Korea for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani arrived in Seoul on Friday (March 15) for the opener Wednesday (March 20) and Thursday (March 21) against the San Diego Padres, drawing fanfare from a large crowd at Incheon International Airport. He will also play Korea Baseball Organization teams and Team Korea in exhibition games starting Sunday (March 17).
His second trip to South Korea as a baseball player also prompted widespread Japanese media coverage. A national hero in his home country, Ohtani was part of Japan's under-18 team when it won the world championship in Seoul in 2012.
Ohtani, who made a surprise announcement of his marriage and shared a photo of his wife just before flying to Seoul, said it was her first time traveling with him for a game.
READ: Ohtani focused ahead of MLB season opener in Seoul
“It's the first time for her to come and see an official game so in that sense I think it will be memorable. But before that, there is something I need to do and I need to focus on that," Ohtani said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani has the talent to build a legacy like NBA legend Michael Jordan did in basketball, and he chose the Dodgers to achieve that goal.
"As an athlete, the guys that get the legacies are guys that win multiple championships," Roberts said. "Shohei, I don't think he's been in the postseason and so he signed on here to, to win a championship and multiple championships. So that's his only goal."
Ohtani, 29, won his second Most Valuable Player award last year after leading the American League with 44 home runs and notching 10 wins as a pitcher.
In December, he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after six years with the cross-town Angels.
(Production: Daewoung Kim, Hyunyoung Yi)