Son of an auto factory worker steals spotlight
Ohtani effect: A story made for Hollywood
The whole world is watching Shohei Ohtani.
An athlete known as “Japan’s Babe Ruth” is bigger than baseball.
Ohtani, 31, is a 6-foot-3-inch pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He stunned the world by hitting three home runs and striking out 10 Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series game on Friday, Oct. 17. One of the home runs actually sailed out of Dodger Stadium.
It was an insane display of record-setting athleticism.
Ohtani, who has both pitching and hitting skill, is known as a rare “two-way” player.
Yet that Friday morning, Ohtani woke up in a “slump,” realizing how little he had contributed during the first three games of the championship series, and everything was on the line for game four, wrote Sonja Chen at mlb.com.
Yet he has earned a reputation for his focus and discipline, and he delivered.
After the epic win, the athlete who began his professional baseball career in 2013 in Japan and came to America to play in 2018, said through interpreter Will Breton, “We won it as a team, and this was really a team effort. So I hope everybody in L.A. and Japan and all over the world could enjoy a really good sake.”
Sake, pronounced sah-keh, is an alcoholic drink made from rice.
Cameras zoomed in to capture the moment Ohtani reminded us all that what you do today is what matters — not yesterday or last week or last month.
“DID WE JUST WITNESS THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE IN BASEBALL HISTORY?” The Bleacher Report sports news site posted on X at 11:37 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2025.
This is a player with a $700 million contract over 10 years, the most lucrative deal in sports history. And he won the World Series last year with the L.A. Dodgers.
Incredibly, L.A. Dodgers officials have said the team has earned back the enormous pay package with ticket sales, merchandise sales and global marketing deals.
The Ohtani effect is real.
Blue collar ties, taught ‘humility’
But there had to be even more to this story.
Not giving up — coming back with a vengeance — takes commitment.
It is modeled from a young age.
Ohtani, the son of a factory worker, has played baseball since age 8.
His father, Toru Otani, played outfielder for a corporate-sponsored team until age 25. A shoulder injury re-routed his baseball plans, and he went to work full time at Mitsubishi, wrote People magazine in 2024.
For his mother, Kayoko Otani, competitive badminton was her sport of choice.
Note: Shohei Ohtani added the letter “h” to his last name before coming to the U.S., which helps with proper pronunciation when writing Japanese names with a Roman alphabet.
Shohei Ohtani trained under a high school baseball coach who had players live on campus, returning home for just six days a year, the L.A. Times reported. Ohtani was assigned toilet cleaning chores “to teach him humility.”
He played pro baseball in Japan from 2013-2017, then went to the L.A. Angels in Anaheim, Calif., from 2018-2023.
Two weeks before Christmas 2023, he signed with the Dodgers.
Then they went on to win the World Series.
Ohtani is the first baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.
He had to prove himself after arriving in the U.S. in 2018, when sportswriters questioned whether Ohtani could handle the pressure and skill required to hit and pitch in Major League Baseball.
Now that kind of thinking seems laughable.
The L.A. Dodgers begin Game 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Porsche signed on early
Not only will fans be watching the game, so is corporate America.
With more than $100 million in sponsorship deals, Ohtani finds himself among an elite group with golfer Tiger Woods, tennis player Roger Federer and basketball icon Stephen Curry.
When fans hear that Ohtani — in addition to being brilliant on the field — is the son of an automobile factory worker and a kid who grew up without privilege, that’s endearing and only makes him more relatable to people throughout the world, said Marcus Collins, marketing professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
For corporate America, that makes endorsements even more valuable.
“It gives natural connection,” Collins told Shifting Gears. “It feels like Ohtani is one of us, when you hear that his background is not unlike many of our fathers or grandfathers.”
These days, Ohtani is a global icon.
His endorsements now include New Balance, Oakley, Hugo Boss, Salesforce, Seiko Watch, DIP Corp. human resources, Nishikawa bedding and Japan Airlines. He signed on with Porsche Japan as a brand ambassador in 2022.
All eyes on No. 17
Ohtani has worn jersey No. 17 since his time at Hanamaki Higashi High School. When it came to wooing Ohtani to the L.A. Dodgers, Ashley Kelly, wife of L.A. Dodger Joe Kelly, posted videos showcasing swag under the hashtag #Ohtake17.
“The message: her husband, the current owner of the popular jersey number, would surrender it to Ohtani if he’d only join the Dodgers,” Porsche wrote in its Christophorus magazine in 2024.
Joe Kelly, then a Dodgers relief pitcher, switched to No. 99. As a sign of gratitude, Ohtani had a new silver Porsche delivered to Ashley Kelley.
‘How legends are created’
These days, Porsche dealers are watching things unfold with a smile.
Ray Crawford, general sales manager at Porsche Detroit North in Shelby Township, played baseball his whole life and told Shifting Gears that die-hard Detroit Tigers fans have trouble watching a World Series without the home team.
“We’re sore losers,” Crawford said, laughing. “But Shohei Ohtani is an amazing pitcher and an absolute phenom.”
Over at Porsche Ann Arbor, sales manager Zahara Amhaz told Shifting Gears that she is among so many people captivated by the unprecedented athleticism on display.
“Mastery comes from consistency, not applause. Ohtani proves it through every swing, Porsche through every turn. Both master their craft through precision, persistence, and purpose,” Amhaz said. “Hard work, and discipline — that’s how legends are created. Because relentless work doesn’t just build wins; it builds identity. Can’t wait to see that spirit play out in the league.”
‘The way he treats people’
Seasoned insiders are blown away by the combination of excellence and humility.
Chris Woodward, first base coach for the Dodgers, told MLB Network Radio on Oct. 22, 2025 that Ohtani is unlike any person he has ever known.
“His ability to just keep coming, keep working, the way he treats people, the humanity that this guy brings to life itself, is the thing that’s startling to me,” Woodward said. “I’ve been around a lot of superstars — as a player, as a coach, as a manager— I’ve never seen anybody like him, the way he just treats people … "
“How he handles it all physically, I don’t know. How he handles it all mentally, I don’t know. He’s not human,” Woodward said. “He does it with class and integrity and all the things that you would value. It’s been really, really impressive to watch.”
On top of everything else, Ohtani and his wife, former professional basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, welcomed the birth of their daughter in April.
Reminder: Tiger fans have tie to Dodgers
The L.A. Dodgers won the 1988 World Series with outfielder Kirk Gibson, who left the Detroit Tigers after winning the 1984 World Series in Detroit.
In the legendary Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland A’s, Gibson limped to the plate with injuries to his left hamstring and right knee. Two outs. Ninth inning. Gibson hit the game-winning home run.
So, in some ways, Detroit really does have a connection to the World Series this year — through Kirk Gibson, who has a very special relationship with Detroit fans.
The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s, based in Farmington Hills, Mich., has raised awareness and research money following Gibson’s diagnosis in 2015. For two decades previously, the foundation provided college scholarships to athletes and non-athletes from high schools where Gibson’s parents taught.
In 2010, Gibson auctioned off his 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Trophy, home run bat, uniform and National League MVP Award to benefit the foundation.
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The Kirk Gibson connection is interesting and funny. When he arrived in LA the Dodgers were a bunch of goofballs, playing practical jokes like inking the inside of his cap so it would leave a black line across his forehead. (I remember this from years ago producing a promo campaign for ESPN's SportsCentury hour on Gibson.) Gibson's leadership of course helped turn the team into champions, though not enough credit is given Orel Hershiser for his performance through that entire postseason.
Good to read, but…………..
I gotta root for the Jays 🇨🇦👍. Best regards from Toronto 😘⚾