The country of Japan needed Shohei Ohtani, and the main character of baseball answered the call.
In the quarterfinal of the World Baseball Classic in Miami, Venezuela jumped out to an early lead with Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. smashing a home run off Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start the game.
Although the reigning World Series MVP and Ohtani’s teammate shut down the side following the homer, the atmosphere in the venue had shifted. The Venezuelan fans were making record levels of noise, while the thousands of Japanese fans who flew in to watch the game stood stunned and silent by the early home run punch.
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So when Ohtani came up to bat in the bottom of the first, down 0-1, his country needed him to do something. Get on base. Take a walk. Force a single. Maybe extend a long drive into a double.
Instead, Ohtani waited for his pitch against Ranger Suárez, who gave the reigning National League MVP fits last season on the Philadelphia Phillies. When the pitch came to him up 2-1 in the count, Ohtani, like taking a simple breath, flicked his arms and sent the ball screaming over the fences to tie the game.
Ohtani, looking to his teammates in the dugout, assured them that he was there to lead them as the captain. He then proceeded to drop a bat flip celebration that has already taken over the internet, with millions of views dissecting the home run and aftermath.
