r/baseball • u/Ok_Assumption_5366 Washington Nationals • 4d ago

Players Only Murakami: "I'm drunk. I'm drunk. Yesterday, maybe hungover. No, not yesterday, tomorrow. Sorry, I don't speak English."

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u/dohdudeh 3d ago

Watching this guy you have to wonder what Ohtani is so afraid of speaking English. This guy can barely speak the language at all and every word he manages to get out in English makes him seem charming and likeable

27

u/No-Economics4128 Los Angeles Dodgers 3d ago

He spoke English plenty of time during our Championship parade.

Japanese mindset is that you either do something extremely well, or you avoid doing that thing at all. This might be the case for speaking English in public (in front of camera). You also have to remember that Ohtani is a brand business in and of itself, especially in Japan, in the mold of LeBron and Jordan brand. The media over there is also ruthless. You don’t get to act fun and unpredictable when you have multimillion dollars riding on your reputation. If Ohtani acts drunk and blabber the way Mune was, the Japanese media would tear him a new one.

14

u/drummerboysam Chicago White Sox 3d ago

Yeah I think the brand angle is the biggest reason. Ohtani came to America with the highest expectations and delivered on them. Mune came to America with lower expectations and surpassed them while powering a young fun team that runs on party vibes.

If Ohtani was clowning around, it might be seen as improper to some. Mune just has a different ticket.