SEOUL -- As Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani walked into a room full of media members at the Gocheok SkyDome ahead of the Seoul Series, all you could hear were the camera flashes as the trio made their way to the podium.
Once Betts and Freeman sat down, the two superstars took a look at the hundreds of people packed in a small press conference room. They saw media members overflowing to the point that photographers were sitting on the floor all over the room, hoping to get good shots of the Dodgers’ superstar trio, especially Ohtani.
After a quick glance, Betts and Freeman both joked that they were “just going to get out of the way” of what they expected to be a news conference dominated by questions to Ohtani. Even for two of the game’s biggest stars, who have spent most of their adult life in the center of the public eye, the next-level attention that surrounds Ohtani, especially in Asia, is eye-opening.
“I think we’re kind of starting to get used to it a little bit,” Freeman said of the added attention surrounding the group this season. “But I don’t know if anybody can get used to things like this. This is exciting. It’s fun for us. It’s fun to be playing in front of a lot more new fans this year.”
From the first day of Spring Training, it became obvious that the lives of every Dodgers player was going to change this season. Cameramen surrounded Camelback Ranch from the moment players drove into the complex. They were waiting when they were departing after workouts and games.
“It’s been a lot. It’s been a lot,” Betts said. “It’s kind of what comes when you get somebody like [Ohtani] and when you get somebody like [Freeman]. Playing with them, it’s fun. Seeing all this, it’s cool, it’s super cool.”
But what the Dodgers experienced Friday afternoon in Seoul was unlike anything they had seen before. Fans were lined up waiting for the team to get off the plane and walk through the airport. The camera flashes were blinding. The loud screams of the fans in attendance were deafening.
That all continued as the Dodgers got off the team bus at the hotel. About 200 people were waiting to greet the team, especially Ohtani. Posters and No. 17 jerseys were impossible to miss. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone involved, and it gave everyone even more perspective of what adding Ohtani this offseason has done for the individual brand and the popularity of the organization overseas.
“I felt like we were the Beatles getting off the plane,” said Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux. “In that aspect, it was cool seeing how many people care about the Dodgers from the other side of the world.”
Regardless of the city, the Dodgers will be the most famous baseball traveling party in the world this season. Ohtani, as he always is, will be right in the middle of it all. After all, it’s all Ohtani has known ever since he became an up-and-coming star in Japan.
"I appreciate all the attention, obviously,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “Attention's always great, being a baseball player and being able to play with these great guys next to me, I'm just really excited. I'm excited to be part of the team and prove to everyone that I'm actually a Dodger now."
Over the past few weeks, the Dodgers have tried to get used to their new normal. Nothing they do moving forward will go unnoticed. It’s what comes with the territory after adding the most exciting star in the game and spending more than $1 billion this winter.
And while the Dodgers’ main goal this week is to start the season with two wins against the Padres, begining with Opening Day on Wednesday at 6:05 a.m. ET/ 3:05 a.m. PT, the trip to Seoul also gives the organization a chance to bond in what will be one of the most anticipated seasons in the history of the sport.
It also has given them a chance to gain perspective of what Ohtani endures and just how much fanfare will follow them this season.
“When we got to the airport, there were a lot of fans, a lot of media and our players were very excited about that,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I just think it speaks to where the game of baseball is globally. The interest, the excitement for Major League Baseball is at an all-time high. ... When you have great players like we have and you see the excitement, I think this is a sign of what’s to come when we go play in other cities.”