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The Dodgers have close ties to various communities within the city.
Just as Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela ignited support among fans in the Latino community in the 1980s, Shohei Ohtani did the same for Los Angeles’ Asian community.
When the Dodgers won the World Series on Wednesday, Little Tokyo erupted in celebration. It’s not just Shohei’s fault. Manager Dave Roberts is Japanese-American, and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman is half-Korean. There is also Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Shu Tamaura is a Dodgers fan who lives in the suburbs of Tokyo. He said many Japanese baseball fans root for the entire team, but there’s something special about Shohei.
“We are proud not only of his exceptional performance, but also of his character,” Tamaura said. “The virtues he represents are the virtues we embrace in the Japanese community.”
In Little Tokyo, Otani’s mural covers one side of the Miyako Hotel. General manager Akira Yuhara said Shohei’s business is growing steadily.
“Little Tokyo is very popular now,” Yubara says. “We’ve probably seen three times as many Japanese customers coming here.”
One of the Japanese guests is Aki Kuroki.
“About 10 minutes before I left the house, the Dodgers won the World Series,” Kuroki said.
He lives in Tokyo and arrived in Los Angeles after the Dodgers won the World Series. He had a ticket to Game 6, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ll go to the parade instead,” Kuroki said with a smile.
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