A “fake Ohtani” is making waves in Los Angeles. A lookalike of Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, 29, surprised fans at Dodger Stadium.
Yoshiki Ideguchi, a Japanese man who has become famous for his look-alike impersonation of Otani, posted a video on his Instagram account on Wednesday. It was titled “after game party Shohei Ohtini”.
It’s literally a scene from the stands at Dodger Stadium after a home game. It’s a shot of Ohtani (the typo in the title is intentional) in his jersey, posing for photos with fans around him. Surprisingly, there are more than 10 people lined up behind him, waiting for their turn.
It’s interesting to note that while there are some “real” fans in line wearing Otani’s No. 17 jersey, there are many more “fake” Otani fans wearing jerseys of Freeman, Turner, Kershaw, and others.
“Fake Otani” Ideguchi is a real-life actor and model. He is from Hyogo Prefecture in the Kansai region and is two years younger than Otani.
He was told by people that they looked alike so much that he decided to pursue his career. Although he doesn’t use it often, his full name is Shohei Otani (大谷似翔平). I added one more “似” character in the middle, which means similar. In slang, it’s like “chutney.
It wasn’t until last year’s WBC that the name really took off.
Team Japan won the tournament and Otani’s popularity skyrocketed as he was named MVP. A short video he posted on TikTok went viral. Since then, 안전놀이터 he’s been inundated with requests to appear on TV and model for magazines. He’s now signed commercial modeling contracts with several companies.
“Before that, I was just a celebrity. I didn’t have a job, so I was living a difficult life as a cameraman, but this job has kept me very busy. I’m grateful to the Otani Award,” he said. ”I also do a lot of research by watching videos and photos. I even gained 15 kilograms of weight to get bigger,” he said.
“I used to only be able to wear shirts that cost 2,000 yen (about 17,000 won), but now I can buy a BOSS shirt that costs 45,000 yen (about 390,000 won),” he says with a smile.
He also made an appearance at the Gocheok SkyDome for the Major League Baseball opening game in Seoul in March. He has since appeared in the stands at the Dodgers’ opening game on the mainland.
He is often accompanied by a teammate who impersonates Dodgers’ Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He also has a friend dressed as Otani’s dog, Decofin. Recently, he’s been “recruiting Mamiko,” looking for someone to play his wife.
“I’ve never actually played baseball before. I’m scared of dogs. I don’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a wife. I hope to meet a woman as pretty and kind as Mamiko-san.” Since moving to the U.S., he has appeared on local TV station KTLA and is expanding his activities.