SEATTLE — Shiatoru ni kite kudasai.
Or if you prefer the characters: シアトルに来てください
That's the Japanese translation of the three most potent words emitted from T-Mobile Park during Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game.
"Come to Seattle!"
That was the chant that echoed throughout the stadium when Angels pitcher/slugger Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first and fourth inning. That was the recruiting pitch to the most talented baseball player of his generation — maybe any generation — to make the Emerald City his new home when he hits free agency at the end of this season.
Stars from around MLB have mentioned Seattle's strong young core of players as a potential attraction for pending free agents. Mariners such as Ty France and J.P. Crawford extol the town's endless summer days as a reason to sign long term in the 206.
But Tuesday, the Mariners' most ardent fans gave Ohtani another reason to consider Seattle as a long-term destination: them.
"I've never experienced anything like that," Ohtani said after the game, adding that he was trying his best to focus on his at-bat. "But I definitely heard it."
Call Seattle sports fans what you want. Fair-weather? Maybe. Grudge-holding? No doubt. But they are a long way from stupid. And if your team is successful, they'll flood you with support no matter what the sport or level of play.
A few of us scribes were talking before Tuesday's game about what the Mariner-heavy crowd should do when Ohtani is introduced and takes his first at-bat. The consensus was that it should greet him with a thunderous ovation — just like it should do every time he walks toward the batter's box when the Angels come back to town in September.
But none of us expected that: A chant that captivated just about every attendee at the yard and wowed the best player in the game.
Ohtani — who could very well sign a contract exceeding $500 million — has been clear that the chance to win consistently will be the chief determinant in deciding where he wants to play next. Good. It should be. But shouldn't it also matter, to an extent, who you're winning in front of?
Seattle is the city that once turned Lumen Field into the biggest home-field advantage in the NFL. It's the city that bought up all the season tickets for the Kraken within minutes of them going on sale.
It can put 40,000 people into Lumen for a Sounders game, helped the Storm lead the WNBA in attendance year after year, and in 2001 and 2002 — filled more home seats than any other MLB team.
A regularly raucous crowd for a World Series-starved town that happens to be one of the six clubs in the time zone closest to his home country? It's gotta be more than just a passing thought for Shohei, no?
"Every time I come here, the fans are passionate," said Ohtani, who went 0 for 1 with a walk in the American League's 3-2 loss to the National League. "They are really into the game. So it's very impressive. I actually spent a couple of offseasons in Seattle, so I like the city. It's beautiful."
One of those passionate fans Tuesday was Kevin Ivey, an Everett resident who was among the "Come to Se-att-le!" chanters on the 100 level near the right-field foul pole. Ivey discussed the history of standout Japanese players who have come through this city — the most celebrated of which is Ichiro — but mainly wanted Ohtani to know "how much we would love him here and want him here. He would be such an exceptional piece of this franchise and we would love him forever."
Craig Hale of Marysville also chanted his desire for Shohei to become a full-time Pacific Northwesterner. Told of Ohtani's "never experienced anything like that" reaction, Hale exuberantly responded: "Ohtani said that?! That's awesome. He's a one-of-a-kind player."
And then there was lifelong M's fan Alex Carson, who feels he did his part by simply remaining silent. Carson said he has an irrational hatred for the Angels due to former Halos such as Scott Spiezio and Chone Figgins sucking once they got to Seattle.
"But I can't boo Ohtani because he's so good," Carson said. "And maybe there's this snowball's chance in hell that maybe he wouldn't go to the Dodgers or Giants and maybe come up here, so I kept my mouth shut."
Tuesday's chants might go down as nothing more than a memorable but meaningless moment. Or maybe, just maybe, they'll be viewed as the seeds that blossomed into the biggest signing in Mariners' history.
How do you steal the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes? Well, you start with fans that sweep him off his feet.
