Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani superfans unite: Ben Verlander's Japan diary

Updated Aug. 21, 2022 7:30 p.m. ET

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

Editor's note: Ben Verlander is spending time in Japan exploring Shohei Ohtani's roots, experiencing the country's culture and meeting fans. This is the second in a recurring series that began Friday, Aug. 19.

What's up, everybody? It's Day 2 in Japan. Before I head to the Tokyo Dome to see the Tokyo Giants take on the Hanshin Tigers (NPB's version of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry), I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you about yesterday. Which also happened to be one of the best days of my entire life.

We were at Yokohama Stadium to see the Yokohama Baystars and the Hiroshima Carp.

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. We showed up, got our credentials and met with various people from the Baystars organization. They could not have been more gracious and generous throughout the entire experience. It was incredibly cool.

Then we walked into the stadium — my first time in a Japanese baseball stadium — and I was blown away. I walked out of the tunnel and just took it all in. This place is impressive. It seats around 34,000 and is completely circular, with steep rows of blue seats. You feel like you're on top of the field even if you're in row 50.

Another thing that jumped out right away is that the field dimensions are small: 309 feet down the line and just over 380 to center, but with a 16-foot wall that wraps around the entire outfield. You can imagine some really high-scoring games there.

We walked in while the teams were taking BP. One thing that was apparent right away: In Japanese baseball, the home team has two players take batting practice at the same time with two separate cages.

There's also a lot going on at batting practice. It's basically a full workout before the game even starts. There are pitchers working out in the outfield, guys hitting off a tee off to the side, bunting drills — the list goes on. You would never see this in MLB.

During BP, I got to meet the Baystars' star pitcher, Shota Iminaga. He was excited to say hello. I asked how he likes pitching in such a small ballpark. He made a point to say that if batters from the United States played there, they would hit a ton of home runs. I also asked if he had a goal of playing in MLB, to which he said "absolutely."

After that, we headed to the team store. I've decided to buy a jersey at every game I attend this week. Naturally, I had to pick up a beautiful white pinstripe Iminaga No. 21.

Next, we hit the concession stands. Hard.

Stadium food is noticeably different here. I tried everything from pork dumplings to ice with oranges on top to one of the best curries I've ever tasted. I'll have a full video breakdown on all of this coming soon.

Then the gates opened. And I'll tell you, I was not ready for what happened next. I'll level with you: I'm incredibly proud to say that "Flippin' Bats" is the No. 1 baseball podcast in Japan. Even knowing that, however, I couldn't have foreseen the reaction I'd get from fans.

Within 30 seconds of the gates opening, two girls came up and asked for a picture. One of the girls burst into tears. That turned out to be a common occurrence. We took hundreds of photos. It was a special day.

It became quite apparent to me just how strong Shohei Ohtani's impact is. This is all because of him. I became the No. 1 Ohtani fan on the other side of the world, and after I flew 13 hours across the globe, the appreciation and love were immediately noticeable.

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @BenVerlander.