Shohei Ohtani merchandise is prompting long lines—even in the rain—in Tokyo

The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented $700 million contract hoping to drive interest—and the dollars that come with it—from fans across the Pacific. It seems to be working. He was the main attraction as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs opened the MLB regular season in March at the Tokyo Dome. He also produced off the field, the marquee name at a sprawling souvenir store that filled an exhibition hall in the Tokyo Dome complex. MLB called the setup its “largest ever special-event store.” Let’s call it a “Merch Museum” dedicated to Ohtani, his two Japanese teammates, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, and the Dodgers. The souvenir shop illustrated that Ohtani might be intensifying the worldwide interest in baseball. “This is an important series,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It highlights that baseball is on a world stage, a world platform.” The value of the Japanese yen has fallen drastically in relation to the dollar in the last 2 1/2 years. The yen buys fewer and fewer dollars, making American prices seem very high for the Japanese. It means this MLB shop is a useful opportunity for many Japanese fans to buy coveted Ohtani and Yamamoto merchandise. Most suggested the prices—though expensive—might be cheaper than they are in the United States. Star Dodgers pitcher Yamamoto was asked about his reaction to seeing thousands of fans wearing Dodgers garb, some with his name on the back. Or seeing his face on billboards, or inside a massive souvenir store. “I see the support from my fans and I’d like to turn it into positive energy and carry it to the mound,” he replied. At the very high end, the store offers Dodgers white or blue jerseys for about 75,000 yen—about $500. There are also other styles of Cubs and Dodgers jerseys for a bit less—about 25,000 yen—about $170. “I think the prices are reasonable,” Kohei Matsui said, a 21-year-old Japanese student. “Japanese all love baseball and Major League Baseball, and we want to see it once in our life,” Matsui added. “This is the chance.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.