Los Angeles Dodgers are proud of Asian Americans – NBC New York

The Dodgers have strong ties to many communities throughout the city.

Just as Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela ignited fan support in the Latino community in the 1980s, Shohei Ohtani did the same for Los Angeles’ Asian community.

When the Dodgers won the World Series on Wednesday, Little Tokyo erupted in celebration. And it’s not just because of Shohei. Manager Dave Roberts is Japanese-American, and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman is half-Korean. There is also Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Shu Tamaura is a Dodger fan living in the Tokyo suburbs. He said many Japanese baseball fans root for the entire team, but he said there is something special about Shohei.

“We are proud of him not only for his outstanding performances, but also for his personality,” Tamaura said. “The virtues that he represents are the virtues that we espouse in Japanese communities.”

In Little Tokyo, an Otani mural covers one side of the Miyako Hotel. Akira Yuhara, CEO, said Shohei’s business is booming.

“Little Tokyo is very popular right now,” Yuhara said. “I’ve seen Japanese guests come here probably three times.”

One of these Japanese guests is Aki Kuroki.

“The Dodgers won the World Series about 10 minutes before I left the house,” Kuroki said.

He lives in Tokyo and arrived in Los Angeles after the Dodgers won the World Series. He had tickets to the sixth game, which will not happen.

“I’ll go to the parade instead,” Kuroki said with a smile.