"I instantly became front-page news": Dodgers' insider shares personal incident highlighting Shohei Ohtani's 'massive' fame in Japan

It's not new news that Shohei Ohtani has a massive fanbase in Japan. However, the level of stardom that Ohtani has in his home country was recently described by Dodgers insider and writer of his two books, Bill Plunkett. Plunkett recalled a personal incident that showcased how big of a superstar Shohei Ohtani is in Japan. Here’s what the sports journalist said about the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his stardom.
On Monday, Bill Plunkett made an appearance on the "Dodgers Territory" podcast, during which the Dodgers insider talked about Shohei Ohtani's fame in Japan. During one of the segments of the podcast, Plunkett recalled an incident that proved to him how big of a superstar Ohtani is in Japan.
Bill Plunkett recalled how he once exchanged some "funny" Japanese phrases with Shohei Ohtani, and the next day, he was all over the front pages of all the major newspapers in Japan. In fact, Plunkett was interviewed about the same "over and over" throughout the season. Sharing his take on Ohtani's fame, Plunkett said:
"Sho-Time 3.0 is already on the shelves in Japan. The amount of interest among Japanese fans for anything and everything Ohtani is unbelievable. If we could document his daily breakfast menu, it would blow up online. If we got photos of him walking Decoy on the streets of Pasadena or wherever he ended up, it would be massive news in Japan. It's remarkable."

"There were a couple of interactions that I had with Shohei over the course of the season that I included in there that were kind of funny. Just the fact that I threw a couple of Japanese phrases at him, I instantly became front-page news in Japan. I was interviewed over and over all season long," Plunkett further added.
Apart from being a Dodgers insider, Bill Plunkett is a sportswriter whose latest book on Shohei Ohtani's first Dodgers season was recently released. The book is titled "Sho-Time 3.0" and released in Japan. Its English version is released across the United States with the title "L.A. Story."

Shohei Ohtani is coming fully recovered from a Tommy John surgery this season but was restricted to the role of hitter by the Dodgers last season. Despite that, he helped the team become the World Series Champions after beating the New York Yankees.
Going into the 2025 MLB season, Shohei Ohtani would be looking forward to embracing his two-way duties. Ohtani will be playing in the company of another Japanese star Roki Sasaki, who recently recalled Ohtani's "very grateful" role in his $6.5 Million signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.