Shohei Ohtani is unlike any player we've ever seen before in Major League Baseball. Purely as a hitter, he's as good as it gets. He became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season in 2024. As a pitcher, he's a Cy Young-caliber arm when healthy. There are special hitters and there are special pitchers, but special hitters and pitchers combined into one simply didn't exist before he came along.
Given his special ability, there is no bigger draw in MLB, if not all of sports, than Ohtani right now. Ticket prices to watch him play either at Dodger Stadium or on the road are exponentially higher than normal. Lines to receive one of his bobbleheads at any given Los Angeles Dodgers game are through the roof. His at-bats are must-see TV, as are his starts when he's able to take the mound.
Ohtani being as big of a draw as he is, combined with the fact that Dodger Stadium will be one of the venues hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, creates the very real possibility that the home of the Dodgers will wind up serving as a home game for the three-time MVP and his teammates on the Japanese Olympic squad.
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Japan could have advantage in 2028 Olympics thanks to Shohei Ohtani
To be completely honest, the Olympics could be held at Citizens Bank Park for all I care and Japan would still have a favorable environment because of Ohtani's presence. Again, he's that big of a draw.
The fact that Dodger Stadium is playing host, though, makes it abundantly clear that Japan will be essentially playing home games. Ohtani is popular everywhere, but especially at Dodger Stadium where he now plays 81 or more times annually.
Home-field advantage does not automatically mean that Japan will win a gold medal. I mean, in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Team USA matched up against Japan in the final at Loan Depot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, and lost despite having much of the crowd on its side.
The Olympics, assuming the star MLB players are able participate, should be awesome. Dodger Stadium is the perfect venue to play host, and it'll be interesting to see if Japan gets a little bit of a boost from the crowd.