Undoubtedly, Shohei Ohtani is the premier baseball phenomenon of his generation. Whether with the LA Dodgers or his native Japan, he is virtually beyond human. On Friday, Ohtani kicked off the 2026 World Baseball Classic in the only way he knows how, by hitting a grand slam.
As a result, Ohtani's natural heroics immediately went viral, as the World Baseball Classic reported.
SHOHEI OHTANI GRAND SLAM! #WORLDBASEBALLCLASSIC pic.twitter.com/z0BXjlYInF
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 6, 2026
Additionally, it didn't take long for Ohtani's grand slam to completely overshadow the Dodgers' celebration of the 2025 World Series in viewership, per Joon Lee. Altogether, Ohtani's grand slam has 3x the views as the World Series celebration.
If baseball wants to become a more global sport, MLB needs the World Baseball Classic to become the sport's biggest event, bigger than the World Series.
In 7 hours, Ohtani's WBC grand slam has 3X the views of the MLB tweet celebrating the Dodgers World Series victory pic.twitter.com/vfqjeMLhvO
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 6, 2026
Ohtani and Japan are looking to repeat as WBC champions in 2023. It was during that tournament that Ohtni managed to shine. During that tournament, he batted .435 and had a home run as well as eight RBIs. Furthermore, Ohtani dominated on the mound with a 1.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.
Although many predict Team USA is the favorite to win the WBC, Japan isn't far behind. Additionally, there is an expectation that Ohtani will do many things throughout the course of the WBC, including hitting home runs, leading Japan in stolen bases, and coming through in the clutch.
Ohtani is in the prime of his career on all fronts. He is coming off a season in which he won his third MVP Award and the Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are without question the heavy favorites to go for a 3-peat heading into this season.
The WBC will go until March 17.
