Its ‘Shotime’ for a Handshake with the Baseball Star; Iron Hand Turns Blue for Shohei Ohtani

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:20 JST, March 2, 2024

OSHU, Iwate — Shohei Ohtani’s hand is always ready for a handshake — granted it’s an iron model of the baseball superstar’s hand.

Two iron models have been given blue decorations in his hometown of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, in line with the color of the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he has now moved to.

The iron hands were created in 2017 by a local cooperative of Nambu ironware — a traditional craft of Oshu — along with the municipal government. By measuring the size of his hand, the models replicate how the two-way star shakes hands with someone.

One model is located at the municipal government office and the other at the Oshu Traditional Industries Museum. In addition to local residents, foreign travelers also visit to “shake hands” with them.

On Friday, decorations for the models were changed from red, the color of the Los Angeles Angels with which Ohtani spent his first six seasons in the major league. A note was also added to celebrate the news of his marriage, which he recently announced on social media.