• Loading stock data...
Thursday, October 3, 2024
The Best Employers in Sports survey is now open! Take the survey

As Shohei Ohtani Enters First Postseason, MLB Goes All In on Him

  • The league is actively promoting the Dodgers superstar both domestically and in his native Japan.
  • The marketing includes a billboard takeover in Japan featuring each one of Ohtani’s homers and steals this season.
MLB

MLB finally has Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani in the playoffs, and he will be very hard to miss in the league’s promotion of the postseason.

Ohtani toiled over the first six seasons of his MLB career for the lowly Angels before shifting to the crosstown Dodgers, where he made history as the league’s first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. Now the phenom is a central figure of league marketing—both in the U.S. and in his native Japan. 

The league is featuring Ohtani within the latest installment of its “Baseball Is Something Else” brand campaign featuring actor Brian Tyree Henry. 

In Japan, meanwhile, MLB has implemented an out-of-home takeover across Tokyo, setting up 113 billboards around the megacity that feature each individual homer and stolen base for Ohtani during the regular season. In addition to spotlighting Ohtani’s historic season and promoting the playoffs, the Japanese effort serves as a forerunner for March, when the Dodgers and Cubs begin the 2025 MLB season with two games in Tokyo. The two-game set will be part of the ongoing MLB World Tour of international games and bring Ohtani back to his home country for regular-season games. 

By that point, Ohtani is also expected to resume pitching and again become a two-way player.

“Certainly having Ohtani on this stage is great for the game, great for the fans, and he’s having such a historic season,” MLB deputy commissioner Noah Garden tells Front Office Sports. “For everybody to be able to see him on that big [posteason] stage is good and important. … We’re using this opportunity to make sure from a global perspective that all our fans are connected to the game, and in certain areas where it makes sense to promote Ohtani front and center, we’re doing just that.”

The Dodgers, the top seed in the National League playoffs, will begin the Division Series on Saturday at home against the Padres, who eliminated the Braves with a 5-4 win Wednesday night to complete a two-game sweep in the wild-card series. Given the long malaise of the Angels, also the team of star outfielder Mike Trout, MLB had not had its unofficial “best player in the game” in the postseason at any point in the last decade—a streak now broken by Ohtani.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

MLB Enters 2024 Postseason With Attendance Up, Game Times Down

The league posted its first back-to-back attendance increases in more than a decade.

MLB Playoff Field Depends on Doubleheader

The Mets and Braves will determine the final two MLB playoff spots.
Sep 25, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots during the first half against the Connecticut Sun during game two of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Caitlin Clark Sets One Last Viewership Record on Her Way Out

Clark drew 2.5 million viewers to ESPN on a Wednesday night.

WNBA Playoffs Could Test Caitlin Clark Effect

WNBA playoff viewership consistently increases from the regular season.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

Domantas Sabonis on Life Behind Scenes of NBA Stars

0:00

Featured Today

The Cal mascot, Oski

How the Calgorithm Turned College Football Twitter Into Real Life

“College GameDay” makes its first trip to Berkeley on Saturday.
Apr 8, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; The cleats of Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper (3) as he runs the bases against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park.
October 1, 2024

MLB Players Are Clamoring for Swag. Outfitting Them Is Big Business

Sliding mitts, cleats, and belts are fun, flashy, and lucrative.
Sep 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
September 30, 2024

The Padres’ Future Is on the Line This Postseason

The MLB playoffs could determine the team’s path forward.
Aug 3, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Barcelona midfielder Pau Victor (8) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second half of an international friendly against Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium. V
September 29, 2024

FC Barcelona’s Overspending Triggered a Crisis. Has It Tightened Its Belt Enough?

The club is betting on their middle-road strategy to dig out.
Pete Rose talks to a reporter
October 1, 2024

Why Pete Rose’s Death Won’t Get Him in the Hall of Fame

Rose is still ineligible for the Hall of Fame despite his death.
October 2, 2024

Michael Jordan’s $7.7B Fight Against NASCAR

Teams like 23XI Racing want an increased share of TV money.
Sponsored

Trend Report: Chiefs-Chargers, Tobacco Road Rivalry, Nebraska Sellout Streak

According to data from TickPick, some games this week will prove to be wallet-busters, climbing into the four figures.
Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns
September 30, 2024

How Karl-Anthony Towns’s Trade to New York Got Delayed in Serbia

The blockbuster trade has yet to be made official.
Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon
September 27, 2024

At Athlos, Speed Cost More Than $84,000 per Minute

Speed kills. But it doesn’t come cheap.
Masai Russell
September 26, 2024

Gold Medalist: ‘Sad’ It Took Until Now to Promote Women’s Track

ESPN+, YouTube, DAZN, and Twitter are all showing the event.
Sprinter Gabby Thomas
September 25, 2024

Alexis Ohanian’s Big-Money Women’s Track Experiment Is Here

“Track and field needs them to pull it off,” said one agent.