Shohei Ohtani lived out a fairytale as the World Baseball Classic came of age

T uesday’s World Baseball Classic final between the US and Japan may have been played in Miami but, judging by the atmosphere throughout the stadium, Japan’s status as the home team was more than just an official designation. Although the crowd at LoanDepot Park seemed evenly split between Japanese and American factions, with frequent music and (a sincerely exhausting amount of) jumping up and down, it was the Japanese fans’ energy which electrified the stands for much of the game.

Most tellingly, during the player introductions before the game, it was Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, rather than any of the American players, who received (by far) the loudest cheer. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising – Ohtani’s ability to draw a crowd is unquestionable at this point. For example, when asked what prompted them to attended Tuesday’s game despite not often attending baseball games back home, Shoko Mitomi and Kyoji Kimura of Okinawa were to the point: “We wanted to see Ohtani.”

Ohtani’s ability to excel at both pitching and hitting – skills which are usually mutually exclusive in baseball – makes him a once-in-a-generation player, although it may be more appropriate to start calling him a once-in-a-century player. Indeed, his statistics in Tuesday’s final haven’t been witnessed in top-flight American baseball since Babe Ruth achieved similar numbers more than one hundred years ago. Ohtani’s statistical triumphs, however, will not be what fans remember most about Tuesday’s game. That distinction goes to the game’s epic final out.

In the ninth inning, with Ohtani pitching and Japan just one out away from winning the championship, three-time MVP Mike Trout stepped up to the plate for Team USA. Adding to the drama of the