By Brandon Matsumoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Fans of Major League Baseball slugger Shohei Ohtani queued up at a pop-up store in Tokyo on Friday to get their hands on merchandise featuring their national hero ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series clash with the New York Yankees.
The store at Tokyo station is selling T-shirts, mugs, bags and stuffed animals bearing the Japanese player’s name for the duration of the series.
Fans can purchase Ohtani T-shirts starting at 3,980 yen ($26) and mugs for 2,200 yen.
“I wanted to buy things I can use right away such as cups and T-shirts. I wanted to wear something while cheering and watching the World Series,” Yoshiyuki Iitsuka, a 40-year-old energy firm employee, said on Friday.
Ohtani signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last December and become the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.
The home run ball he hit to reach the milestone sold for a record $4.39 million at auction this week, making it the highest priced ball from any sport.
His performances have become a regular feature of morning TV news programmes in Japan, brightening up the start of the day for baseball fans and beyond.
The best-of-seven series against the Yankees kicks off in Los Angeles later on Friday.
($1 = 151.8900 yen)
(Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
