When Babe Ruth came to Japan in 1934 for a historic tour of the country by Major League Baseball stars, Japanese fans lined the street when he arrived to get a glimpse and rose to their feet, waving American and Japanese flags, whenever he came to bat. They had not seen anyone like him before.
Nearly 80 years later, Shohei Ohtani is living out a mirror-image version of that legendary Ruth visit to his homeland. This time, the slugger is from Japan and the people standing in awe are in America.