"If we document Shohei Ohtani's daily breakfast menu, it would blow up" - Dodgers insider dives into superstar’s cultural influence in Japan

Shohei Ohtani's record-breaking season with the Los Angeles Dodgers has become the stuff of legend and also inspired two books written by journalist Bill Plunkett.

While the Japanese phenom's move across LA has been hugely successful on the field, it also had a huge inluence both in the US and outside. Speaking on the Dodgers Territory podcast, Plunkett describes the cultural inluence Ohtani has in Japan [20:15 - 26:09]:

"Sho-Time 3.0 is already on the shelves in Japan. The amount of interest among Japanese fans for anything and everything Ohtani is unbelievable. If we could docuument his daily breakfast menu, it would blow up online. If we got photos of him walking Decoy on the streets of Pasadena or wherever he ended up, it would be massive news in Japan. It's remarkable.

"There were a couple of interactions that I had with Shohei over the course of the season that I included in there that were kind of funny. Just the fact that I threw a couple of Japanese phrases at him, I instantly became front-page news in Japan. I was interviewed over and over all season long."

Sportswriter Bill Plunkett's new book on Shohei Ohtani's first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers has taken Japan by storm and generated huge interest in the US as well. The Japanese version of the book, titled "Sho-Time 3.0" has been released in Japan, while the English version, titled "L.A. Story" will be available in the US in March.

Recovering from a Tommy John surgery last year, Shohei Ohtani's role was limited to hitting duties only, playing as their designated hitter. Having helped them to the World Series title with just his hitting, the NL MVP is set to resume his two-way prowess in the upcoming MLB season.

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MLB legend Barry Bonds says Shohei Ohtani should remain as a designated hitter for the Dodgers

After his monumental success with the Los Angeles Dodgers as their designated hitter, Shohei Ohtani will be available to resume his two-way duties on the field this season.

While fans are eager to see how it plays out with his new team, MLB legend Barry Bonds believes that he should continue to be a DH this season. During the Annual Baseball Writers' Dinner, Bonds said:

"That's going to tire him out. I think it's just too much on him ... why change something that's going great?"

Ohtani accepted the NL MVP award during the awards ceremony through a video message and thanked everyone related to the Dodgers organization while receiving the award.

With less then a month remaining until Spring Training, Ohtani will be hoping for similar success this year as he returns to action.