YOKOHAMA, Japan – Earlier in the week, Team Japan’s manager, Atsunori Inaba, called an old teammate of his. American and Japanese fans alike will have heard of him: Shohei Ohtani.
In the final two years of his playing career, Inaba had overlapped with a young Ohtani on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, several years before the two-way star signed with the Angels to play in the best baseball league on the planet. He would invite the rookie over for dinner at his house and to this day, they keep in touch. Inaba, just like everyone else who loves the game, has continued to follow Ohtani’s career with fascination.