Shohei Ohtani has proved this year that the hype ahead of his MLB debut in 2018 was not overblown but, while the Japanese two-way standout has arrived as a must-see player, marketing experts say he is not yet the global star the league craves.
The 27-year-old Ohtani, because of his ability to pitch and hit at an elite level, has long been compared to Babe Ruth, who died in 1948 aged 53 and is still considered by many to be the best baseball player of all time.
But while Ohtani is a multinational marketing wonder whose popularity in Japan is inescapable, experts say it would be premature to consider him a global brand. Despite the expectations placed on his shoulders, Ohtani has taken America's national pastime by storm this year. But MLB is well aware of the marketing potential Ohtani has and on Monday debuted a 30-second promotional spot centered around him called "It's Sho-Time" that celebrates his historic first half of the season.
"He has the potential , but it's too big a label to put on him right now. Largely it's baseball's problem," Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, told Reuters. Just last week, Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui's record for home runs in a major league season by a Japanese player when he hit his 32nd homer.
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How MLB Superstar Shohei Ohtani Made $6 Million In Endorsements Without Even TryingI'm an assistant editor covering the intersection of sports, business and technology. I've previously written for CNBC.com, The Hockey News and Narratively. I started this journey covering a handful of New Jersey Devils stranded in Albany during the 2012 NHL Lockout, with stops on the beats of the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. I graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism where I specialized in Sports Media.
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