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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

Japan fans respectfully passed around Shohei Ohtani’s HR ball before returning it to the owner

One of the great aspects of the World Baseball Classic is seeing how different cultures approach the game of baseball. Across all the pool locations, the atmospheres have been unique for every fanbase, but Japan might be the best of them all.

Just look at what happened after Shohei Ohtani’s home run on Sunday.

Facing Australia in the first inning with two runners on, Ohtani turned on an 0-1 breaking ball and sent it deep into the right-field stands at the Tokyo Dome. It was Ohtani’s first World Baseball Classic home run, and the ball almost certainly held considerable value. That’s what made the scene in the stands so special.

The FS1 broadcast would show that fans in the stands were passing around the home run ball to take photos of it. And then the ball was returned to the fan who caught it when they were finished.

Could you imagine something like that happening at an MLB game? Absolutely not — particularly after a significant home run like that. Here, we have adults taking baseballs from children and a guy who travels around ballparks to catch baseballs. 

Japan went on to win, 7-1, and finished Pool B with a perfect 4-0 record.

Baseball fans loved seeing that moment of respect from the Tokyo crowd as well.

This was how Twitter reacted

U.S. fans could really learn from that example.

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