I asked Olympic workers about Shohei Ohtani, and their faces lit up

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Japan's biggest star isn't participating in the Tokyo Olympics. His job kept him across the Pacific Ocean in Anaheim, California.

But there's no denying Los Angeles two-way star Shohei Ohtani is beloved in his homeland.

To see how beloved, I traversed an empty Yokohama Stadium, home of the DeNA BayStars, with a six-letter surname written in big blue letters on my notepad.

"O H T A N I"

The workers at every venue throughout these Games have been gracious and assisting. But when an American journalist approaches them eagerly with pen and paper in hand, their caution and hesitancy is understandable.

Then I show them the notepad. And their faces light up.

"Shohei! Yes!"

But there's more confusion. They immediately try to tell me he does not play for Japan, which defeated Mexico 7-4 hours before my quest through the stadium, and that he plays in America now.

Yes, I tell them. But what do you think of him? Do you watch him on television?

"He's our hero," says Akari Sasaki, a sport information team volunteer for Tokyo 2020.

After signing with the Angels in December 2017, Ohtani — who turned 27 on July 5 — became Rookie of the Year in his first Major League Baseball season as the first legitimate two-way player the game had seen in a century. Tommy John surgery cost him chunks of time in the next two seasons, but he managed to hit 25 homers between the shortened campaigns.

He's ascended to stardom and domination this season. Entering Saturday, Ohtani leads the league in home runs (37) and slugging percentage (.684). He also has a 3.04 ER and 100 strikeouts in 80 innings.

"Amazing," was Japanese star and former New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka's one-word response when asked about Ohtani through an interpreter on Saturday.

Since Ohtani's former Japanese professional team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, plays in the Pacific League of the NPB, Ohtani rarely played in this stadium. Nonetheless, it's hard not to look at the dozen or so rows of seats beyond the tall right-center field wall and imagine Ohtani clearing the ballpark's confines.

Japan's public television station, NHK, broadcasts all Angels games, especially now that Tanaka has returned to Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. With Tokyo 16 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone, the games start around 11 a.m. locally.

"So for us, it's very easy to watch," said Kazuya Tajima, a language services coordinator for Tokyo 2020.

The only problem is the weekends, when day games mean NHK broadcasts start around 5 a.m.

"The first thing we will do is watch the TV and check the results," Sasaki said.

There are other Japanese players in the majors, including Yusei Kikuchi of the Seattle Mariners and the Kenta Maeda of the Minnesota Twins. They do not receive an ounce of air time, Tajima said.

It’s all Ohtani?

"Oh. Ta. Ni."

Message received.

"He's a pioneer," Sasaki said, noting his success on both the mound and in the batter's box this season. "He's doing something different. He's doing something special."

“He stole a base (the other day), you know?” said Taisuke Ochi, who works in technical services and watches as much Ohtani as he can. “Fifteen stolen bases this year.”

As a matter of fact, I did know that, thanks to this extremely arbitrary stat that made the social media rounds on Thursday (it may have been Friday morning for me — it all blends together).

What's also different about Ohtani, Sasaki said, is that smile. Ichiro Suzuki, for example, was a pragmatist, a thinking man, as Sasaki described it.

"(Ohtani)'s characteristics are kind and gentle," Tokyo 2020 administration team member Yuna Arikawa said.

The charisma he exudes does not lessen the expectations among his people.

"We expect him to get the home run title (this season)," Tajima said. "Like Babe Ruth. Or better than Babe Ruth."

In one of my final Ohtani-related interactions, I approached a pair of police officers patrolling the ballpark and pointed with my pen at Ohtani's name. One of them crossed his arms, as if to say, "no thanks."

Had I found someone who wasn't an Ohtani fan?

We walked through a door, and when I realized he, too, simply meant to inform me that Ohtani played overseas now, I made suitable-enough hand gestures to ask whether they watched him on TV.

They nodded their heads vigorously.

"Ohtani-san!" one shouted.

Ohtani-san indeed.

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani of LA Angels 'our hero' in Olympics-host homeland Japan