There were minutes left for Game 3 to start, and the city where Shohei Ohtani was born breathed a sigh of relief.

“I almost cried when I saw it injuryresident Ayako Oyama, 50, said, referring to the partial shoulder dislocation the Dodgers superstar suffered. Suffered in attempt to steal base two days ago.

Despite the fears designated hitter He would be sidelined for the rest of this series, so he recovered and Oyama, wearing a blue Ohtani jersey, showed up at the local auditorium where the city was hosting a World Series viewing party.

Jun Kuranari, the mayor of Oshu, Japan, watches the live broadcast with about 200 other people before the start of Game 3 of the World Series.

(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)

His employer, the city of Oshu, had given him the morning off to go to school. (Oshu is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles.) He had risen early to mark his place in the long line that wrapped around the building, along with about 200 residents and Mayor Jun Kuranari, who traveled to California to sign a friendship agreement earlier this month. city ​​agreement with its counterpart in Torrance. A camera crew from Fox broadcast the scene live to US viewers.

“I’ve never seen Oshu this much in the spotlight,” said Oyama, holding two blue bambam.

Ohtani is, of course, a national hero throughout Japan; His image appears on billboards, green tea advertisements and newspaper pages.

But there is something else in Oshu’s love for his own son. He is much more than just a celebrity from their city or a rare baseball talent, but he is truly one of their own.

“People in this region are known to have a serious, hard-working and determined character,” said Tomonori Toriumi, an official from Oshu’s sports promotion department.

“This is Ohtani. “Even though he’s under so much pressure, he doesn’t show it.”

A colleague from the “Shohei Ohtani Hometown Cheer Squad,” the city’s fan club that Toriumi leads, took the stage to rehearse a few chants with the crowd: “Let’s go Shohei!”

The first inning started strong: The Yankees walked Ohtani. Freddie Freeman followed a homer and drove it home.

The crowd screamed, banging their bambams together in anger.

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Oshu, a semi-rural city with a population of approximately 114,000, is not much of a tourist destination.

The handful of hotels in the city are more likely to be booked by Taiwanese and South Korean businessmen visiting nearby semiconductor factories. Starting from 22:00, the streets are completely silent and pitch dark.

Prominent local attractions include the Cattle Museum, a tribute to the region’s high-quality beef. Other local specialties include apples and a type of traditional ironware known as Nambu Tekki.

“Very few people come here,” said 68-year-old taxi driver Hidetoshi Watanabe.

“For every 100 foreigners you see, maybe one or two are tourists.”

Like many longtime residents, Watanabe remembers fondly when Ohtani was just one of the neighborhood kids: a skinny freshman who joined the baseball team at nearby Hanamaki High School, where Watanabe’s son was a senior outfielder.

A person photographs a banner supporting Shohei Ohtani near the Mizusawa train station in Oshu, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday.

(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)

“My son looked up to Ohtani a lot,” Watanabe said.

Even then Ohtani already said “Yakyu baka”: a kid obsessed with baseball.

“I knew he was destined to be a great man,” Watanabe said. “You could tell he had a much sharper understanding of baseball. Everyone knew Ohtani was different.”

Since leaving home and becoming what many say is the most talented baseball player of all time, Ohtani’s local presence has only grown.

Arrive on the high-speed train station Near the area where Ohtani grew up, you’re greeted by a small glass-enclosed display featuring metal wind chimes engraved with messages of support and autographed memorabilia.

Local elementary schools are serving Ohtani-themed lunches to their students, including menu items like toast spelled out “Dodgers 17” with blueberry jam. The city designated the 17th of each month as Ohtani Day; That means bank employees, taxi drivers and clerks wear Dodgers gear to work. (Los Angeles followed suit and declared May 17 as annual Ohtani day.)

In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani’s hand, which he used while playing in a Japanese league early in his career. Visitors come in to shake hands.

(Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)

One of Oshu’s most popular events is an annual festival that features rice art made by growing five different varieties of rice to create large displays on farmland. This year’s offering: Ohtani tosses his bat aside after one of his 54 regular-season home runs for the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, nearly all traces of Ohtani’s former team have been ruthlessly erased from the city. There are no red Angels on Oshu.

The Ohtani posters that read “Pride of the City of Oshu” hung all over the city, in bars, train stations, and government offices, are now all blue.

“Well, first of all, we support Ohtani, not the Angels,” said Toshihide Oikawa, an official of the Oshu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with a shy laugh.

Although Oshu, a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, doesn’t draw the crowds, city officials like Toriumi still receive constant email inquiries from foreign and Japanese fans looking to make the Ohtani pilgrimage.

“No one can speak English very well, so it is difficult to answer them properly,” Toriumi said apologetically.

Some people find their way no matter what.

In the lobby of Oshu City Hall is an iron replica of Ohtani’s hand, which he used while playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese league, his team before the Angels.

“Last month, about 20 to 30 people came from abroad,” said Miyoko Ishikawa, whose seat at the information desk looked directly at the extended extension.

“They come as families, couples or friends; they come to shake hands.”

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By the time the ninth inning came around, it was obvious Game 3 would be another win. Officer Oyama left in a hurry to go to lunch before returning to work.

The projector screen showed Yankees star Juan Soto looking defeated.

Ohtani had had a quiet outing, but the slightly diminished crowd chanted loudly for his final at-bat, groaning loudly when the ball sailed over his left toe, prompting a walk. Japanese broadcasters made up for the lack of action by sampling Wagyu burgers from Yankee Stadium.

But Oshu doesn’t care if Ohtani wins or loses, whether he’s in a slump or a clutch-time hero.

“Of course it’s great for the Dodgers to win the World Series because we want to see Ohtani’s dreams come true,” Toriumi said.

“But even if Ohtani doesn’t win a World Series, Oshu will always love him.”

Special correspondent Momo Nagayama contributed to this report.