TEMPE, Ariz. — Every morning for the past six years, no matter how early Angels players and staff arrived at Diablo Stadium in Tempe, they would see a swarm of Japanese media standing around the Tempe Butte A hill overlooking the team’s spring training facility. This is not a casual sunrise hike. Each shot zooms in, awaiting the arrival of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
While spring training means early mornings for players, coaches and reporters, the group assigned specifically to Ohtani makes others think twice before complaining about their alarm clocks. Ohtani Watch begins at 5 a.m. while most of the Cactus League is still asleep. There are no weekends off and no wiggle room: Everyone is chasing that shot every day throughout six weeks of training camp.
“Good luck beating them here,” Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon said of the group that usually includes 50 reporters on special Big Valley occasions like his first spring training For press conferences, the team may expand to 70 reporters. Held at off-site hotel to manage crowds.
“They said they had to (come here),” Angels bench coach Ray Montgomery said, shaking his head. “I asked why and they said it was just in case the valley showed up early.”
Ohtani’s immense fame and the attention that came with it never calmed down. When he arrived in Tempe in 2018 as a 23-year-old star from Japan, no one knew how Ohtani’s talents as a pitcher and hitter would play out. Now, there’s no question that the three-time All-Star, two-time American League MVP, two-time Silver Slugger and Rookie of the Year is a generational talent.
Now, Ohtani’s star power is 26 miles down the road at Dodgers training camp in Glendale. If you’ve been living under a rock, the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a ten-year, $700 million deal last offseason. If you live near Tempe Buttes, the scenery gets even more beautiful.
So what happens when the mountain is empty again? What will life be like when the Datani Circus leaves town?
“Some people have said that maybe this is what the Beatles were like in the last few years,” Rendon said. “You’re not used to (the attention), but you kind of look forward to it. It’s like being kicked out of the band now.”
For the past few years, Tempe’s Butte Mountain overlooking the Angels’ parking lot has hosted more than 50 members of the Japanese media every day before sunrise. (Sam Bloom/ Competitor)
The biggest change, besides no one watching players get on and off the bus, is inside the clubhouse. It is, and always has been, the players’ space. But when Ohtani was there, the swarm of reporters made some Angels players feel like they were guests in their own home.
“It’s nice to be able to give us a little more room,” Angels outfielder Taylor Ward said.
Losing a nine-game player doesn’t make any team better. But it makes it easier for them to breathe.
“Sometimes players get intimidated by a lot of media,” Angels veteran closer Carlos Estevez said. “Some of the younger guys. Their reaction was, ‘I’m not going to get in the way.'”
Pitcher Patrick Sandoval is one of Ohtani’s closest friends, but even he admitted it was “weird” to have a Japanese reporter ask him one question about himself and then ten questions about Ohtani. dynamic”. If the cameras catch you nodding at the two-way superstar, the media will ask you to talk about it.
“I’ve always felt (players were wary of us). We’re basically here to report on one person, but we’re trying to get other information related to that person,” said a Japanese reporter who has covered Ohtani frequently for years. and requested anonymity in order to speak freely.
The Angels’ public relations staff is often flooded with requests and they try to rotate the players they ask to talk about Ohtani, who typically limits his media coverage to just after he starts on the mound. Grace McNamee, the Angels’ public relations manager, who speaks Japanese, documented Ohtani’s unique schedule and coordinated photo opportunities.
Now that Ohtani is gone, “I’ve never seen Grace so relaxed,” Montgomery said.
A year ago, the alley-like hallways inside the Angels’ spring training locker room had barely enough room to walk. Now, catcher Matt Thaiss and fellow backstop Chad Wallach have plenty of room to throw the football back and forth on March mornings as part of a makeshift fielding drill.
Gone are the Otani signs and stadium paraphernalia surrounding the stadium and Tempe. But if you were one of the thousands of fans who made Ohtani’s jersey the best-selling jersey in baseball last year, don’t worry: It’s still in active circulation with the Angels.
Ohtani’s number — the famous red-and-white No. 17 — now belongs to… drumroll, please… non-roster invitee Hunter Dozier, who has a career negative 2.6 WAR, or a better winning percentage than his replacement. Dozier wore No. 17 almost throughout his seven-year career with the Kansas City Royals and signed a minor league deal with Anaheim in mid-January. A few weeks before spring training began, he started wondering: Would the Angels give up on it so soon?
He got his answer on the first day of training camp. The 32-year-old handyman emphasized that No. 17 holds no special significance to him; it was exactly what the Royals gave him at the start of his career.
That number now might make him one of the most popular non-roster invitees in Tempe Diablo Stadium history.
“There’s probably a lot of No. 17s in the stands,” said Dozier, who has been reassigned to minor league camp, meaning he won’t make the Angels’ Opening Day roster. “Don’t look at the last name, look at the number.”
And don’t look too close to the left clubhouse corner.
Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers arrived at training camp expecting to enter his usual locker room, only to find that he had Ohtani’s old space directly to the left of the clubhouse door. He was surprised. Any end spot in a baseball clubhouse is usually occupied by veterans and stars, providing plenty of space — they often use the lockers next to them for overflow — as well as space for quick media exits.
“It’s kind of sad,” Detmers said. “But at the same time, it’s cool. Obviously, it’s a great locker and Shohei has been incredible. Great guy. Easy to talk to. Talk to him about anything. It’s great to have his old locker special.”
This spring, Angel Camp has ample parking, increased ticket availability and fewer autograph-seeking crowds. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)
What quickly lost its appeal were the constant questions about “people who are not here.” Angels players still faced a daily burden of Big Valley inquiries throughout the spring, and heading into training camp they had even bigger inquiries such as: Will there still be sushi?
Each spring, the Angels send out a questionnaire to players gauging their nutritional needs for the upcoming season. Without Ohtani, many players worry that the steady stream of Japanese food will turn into a trickle, making “do we still have sushi?” a common writing question. The answer is yes. In fact, Ohtani isn’t the biggest daily sushi consumer on the team; That title likely belongs to Mike Trout or Logan O’Hope.
Trout is also the only current Angels player who remembers life without Ohtani, whose arrival in 2018 didn’t actually bring more sushi or anything to the team’s spring facility. Different food. Ohtani has a nutritionist in Japan who communicated with the Angels staff in early meetings. During the season, he often brought in his own food. One of the first English phrases Ohtani said to employees in Tempe was “I’m fine.”
After a disappointing 2020 season, Ohtani used blood analysis to determine which foods would produce the best results and optimize his recovery. Timing is equally important. Working on a fairly strict schedule, his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, often sends order requests to the Angel Kitchen staff in advance so that Otani’s food—a rotating menu that always includes lean proteins, vegetables, and carbs—is on point. Being able to be ready when needed, which is almost impossible. During the players’ lunch rush. Ohtani’s schedule was so unique that he often ate with just Mizuhara and infielder David Fletcher.
Still, Ohtani’s absence will be reflected in the pantry. Last year, he brought Japanese Wagyu beef into the kitchen a few times to cook for the team. Multiple angels expressed condolences for the loss.
Aside from a potential iron deficiency, things have been quieter for the Angels since Ohtani. There is ample parking at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Tickets are easy to obtain. The line of players signing in and out of the stadium was smaller than in previous years. The Angels’ chief security guard focused most of his attention on Ohtani and the fans and reporters who passed in and out of his orbit. Even Suwon often has fans holding placards waiting for him when he steps out of the team bus. As one player described it, there’s a lot less rioting now.
“He brings such a big crowd, which is not a bad thing because of the way he carries himself on the field,” Trout said.
“I’ve never been around anyone that big. I don’t think baseball has ever seen anyone that big,” Rendon said. “That’s weird, right? There will be a lot of people trying to find him in hotels and other places.”
Now, attention to Ohtani’s every move has shifted to Los Angeles. It’s only a short drive, but it’s a whole other world.
(Above: John Bradford/ Competitor; Photo: Aaron Dorst/Getty; Michael Owens/Getty)
