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By Tyler Erzberger
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You already know Japan loves its baseball team.
And you already know those same fans love Shohei Ohtani, the current king of global baseball.
But do you know how much the fans in Tokyo love the Samurai Japan and Ohtani at the World Baseball Classic?
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Not only was the Tokyo Dome sold out, with lines out the door hours before doors opened for their first WBC game against Chinese Taipei, but it was a party atmosphere outside for the defending champions.
While the real Ohtani went 3-4 on the day with a grand slam that currently has over 20 million views on social media in the first 12 hours, Ohtani impostors were getting into the spirit of their favorite play all around the stadium.
A group of cosplayers dressed up as multiple members of Samurai Japan, including Ohtani's teammate on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
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But possibly the best cosplay of them all wasn't a player on the team but a pet, as a fan dressed as Ohtani's dog, Decoy, to pose for pictures with the Samurai Japan ensemble.
An interviewer even caught up with Ohtani and Decoy for a two-on-one interview outside the Tokyo Dome.
Samurai Japan won their opening WBC game 13-0 over Chinese Taipei and will continue their group stage play on Saturday against fellow unbeaten South Korea.
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