Already 2-0, Dodgers are the center of the spectacle on Opening Day - ESPN

IN THE HALLWAY outside a cramped interview room in the Tokyo Dome, Shohei Ohtani loomed in the rear doorway, towering over nearly everyone around him, his shoulders filling the entire frame. It was here that he faced his worst fear: Nothing to do and nowhere to go. A large man in a small space, happiest when he has a bat to swing or a ball to throw, grew more impatient with every passing moment.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani's Dodgers teammate and the winning pitcher last Wednesday night in the first regular-season game of 2025, was at the front of the room, sitting at a table and addressing questions with expansive answers that elicited laughs from the Japanese media. This was his moment, too. Back in Japan, five solid innings against the Cubs in his back pocket, an overflow room hanging on his every word. Those who know Yamamoto say he not only welcomes stardom but also wears it well, and he was enjoying himself — perhaps a little too much.

Ohtani was waiting for Yamamoto to finish so he could quickly trample his way through four questions, two in Japanese, two in English, and get on with his night. In contrast to Yamamoto, Ohtani wears the public aspect of his fame like a hand-me-down suit. He was not accustomed to standing awkwardly in the back of a room while someone else dictated his schedule. And yet Yamamoto kept talking, almost gleefully, and Ohtani began sending a series of playful messages that suggested the pace needed to be quickened.

First, he looked at his watch, checking it with an elaborate flourish. Whatever Yamamoto did in response — I was among those piled 15 deep in the hallway, watching Ohtani watch Yamamoto, so the adventure is yours to choose — elicited a big laugh from Ohtani, who then did history's