Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani is among the most prominent baseball stars in the United States today. However, his level of fame reaches an entirely different magnitude when he returns to his home country of Japan. This was something Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw witnessed first hand as the team traveled to Japan to kick off the MLB season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As expected, Ohtani received a hero’s welcome upon his return. While neither Kershaw nor his Dodgers teammates were particularly surprised, the sheer scale of Ohtani’s popularity in Japan still left Kershaw in awe. So much so that he made a striking comparison to Taylor Swift to illustrate just how revered Ohtani is in his homeland.
“I think we all assume how much of a figure Shohei is,” Kershaw said before the Dodgers’ trip to Japan, as reported by The Orange County Register. “People say he’s like The Beatles. People say he’s like Taylor Swift.”
The Beatles are widely regarded as one of the greatest and most iconic musical acts in history. However, with the rise of social media in recent decades, Taylor Swift’s global influence is arguably unlike anything seen before. While the comparison is bold, Kershaw’s analogy linking Ohtani to the “Fortnight” singer holds merit—especially in Japan, where the Dodgers’ designated hitter is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time.
