We must return to our considerable Tokyo Series coverage to understand the newest Dodger home run celebration.
If you were watching Shohei Ohtani round the bases after walking off the Atlanta Braves on his MVP bobblehead night, you likely saw him slash his hand across his face as he crossed home plate. Chad Moriyama of Dodgers Digest was among the first to ask the big question: What was Ohtani doing?
Just how omnipresent Ohtani was while I was in Japan cannot be overstated. Advertisements, tie-ins, literally almost all of the merchandise at the Tokyo Series gift shop—you name it, Ohtani was there. The one medium where I was paying next to no attention was television, for a simple reason: I was traveling on the road.
I did not watch much television while in Japan, apart from watching the Dodgers beat the Yomuiri Giants from the comfort of my hotel room in Kyoto. Thankfully, Moriyama and those like him could decode the mystery of what Ohtani was doing.
The skincare ad was not hard to track down, and yes, it features Ohtani being a bit of a goober while hawking skin creme. And yes, the ad is ripe for gentle mockery.
Whether other Dodgers do the Ohtani Swipe is an open question. Moreover, the questions of whether the team will continue to do the fusion dance pose or the Kamehameha pose are open as well, but considering how anime has crept into the mainstream of popular culture, they appear likely to continue.
Heck, the anime made for the Tokyo Series was playing constantly near the Tokyo Dome, and it was a shame to see it stop after the series concluded.
Michael Kay attempts to describe One Piece
On that note, on April 2nd, Michael Kay of the YES Network attempted to describe New York Yankee Jazz Chisholm’s attire from the ongoing anime/manga series One Piece during an at-bat recently. Chisholm, an infamous anime fan who famously feuded with current Dodger Miguel Rojas while they played for the Miami Marlins, was decked out to the nines in gear that would not be out of place in Akihabara, Tokyo.
Was the attire appropriate? I think so, but I am the wrong person to ask.
To describe my reaction to what I saw, imagine Howard Cosell or Edward R. Murrow attempting to describe the plot of Star Wars. Kay’s recitation went about as well as that hypothetical, provided one gave Cosell or Murrow cue cards to describe their discussion.
Yankees announcers Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill with a mid-game discussion on One Piece lore is an iconic baseball broadcasting moment
“I know you were asking about this, Paul … Monkey D. Luffy has the properties of rubber after accidentally eating one of the Devil Fruits.” pic.twitter.com/KtWh14Aedp
— MLB (@MLB) April 2, 2025
I concede: A for effort. As to execution, it’s a weak dribbler to the mound.
First, while spelled Luffy, it’s pronounced LOOFY (rhymes with poofy), not LUFF-Y (rhymes with puffy).
Second, One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time. It debuted in 1997, with its anime adaptation debuting two years later. The longevity or popularity of the series is usually what most people lead with to the uninitiated.
Third, yes, Kay was technically correct with everything else. Highly reductive, but correct. It’s like describing Die Hard only as the best Christmas movie ever or It’s a Wonderful Life only as a case study of the most selfish younger brother ever. Yes, technically true on both counts, but does it helpfully describe the movies to someone who hasn’t seen them? No, not at all.
Considering that I literally visited the author’s hometown of Kumamoto while in Japan, I feel a tad more qualified to lead the discussion, which took off online.
[Author’s note: In the video, I am saying Hisashiburi Dana…Mugiwara / roughly “Long time, no see, Straw Hat.” It’s a reference; don’t worry about it.]
Would have given my left arm for Vin Scully to talk about One Piece? Sure.
Would I give my left arm for Joe Davis or people’s champion Stephen Nelson to talk about One Piece confusing Orel Hershiser? You might think that, I couldn’t possibly comment.
Would I die of shock if Rick Monday or Charlie Steiner or Kirsten Watson brought up One Piece unprompted? Yes, obviously. (I had a good run.)
Describing Monkey D. Luffy is a onerous task that misses the point. One Piece is ultimately an adventure story about a real, mythical treasure left behind twenty years before the story starts.
What is the One Piece? No one knows, considering the manga has been going on for almost 30 years. It is a real thing, though, it’s not some “it’s the friends we made along the way” sort of deal.
On this quest, Luffy leads his crew, which includes a swordsman, a cook, a thief, a liar, a reindeer, and others (no spoilers here). It’s really good. Ohtani is a fan, if that fact helps you come aboard.
Yes, there are over 1100 episodes and 1100 chapters of the story. You will laugh. You will cry. As with many things, sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination.
AloJapan.com