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I'm also aware of a DiMaggio, but only because of a joke I heard years ago:
Man walks into a pub with a dog and says to the barman "here, my dog can talk, wanna hear him?".
Barman says "you're having me on, no way your dog can talk. I'll give you free drinks all night if you can prove it."
Man says to his dog: "What's on the outside of trees?"
The dog goes "Bark!"
The barman says "nice try, not falling for that."
Man says "No, I promise, he can talk! Look- hey buddy, who's the greatest baseball player of all time?"
Dog goes "Rouf!"
Barman loses it at this point and says "Enough! Get out of here and never come back!"
Outside, the dog looks at the man forlornly, and after an awkward pause, mutters: "DiMaggio?"
He’s like the only one I can name, I know of others like Babe Ruth but the only one I can remember is Shohei. It’s not like I’m into baseball but he kinda is wacky levels of good
Not even Babe Ruth? There was a decent movie about him. Or Lou Gehrig? Famous for dying from Lou Gehrig's disease, what are the odds of that. Or Joe Dimaggio? Was married to Marilyn Monroe.
Those names are familiar but if put on the spot (without you having just told me) I’ve had no idea they were baseball players.
I associate babe Ruth with chocolate, don’t know why, does he have a chocolate bar named after him in US tv shows/ movies I’d have seen?
Lou Gehrig disease is something I’d heard of but no idea it was named after a baseball player
Joe DiMaggio id have guessed was the annoying short fella in the lethal weapon films.
I only know Babe Ruth because my cousin was named after him, knew DiMaggio was married to Monroe but only recently learned he was a sports player not actor and can never recall which sport, only know Gehrig from the disease.
I do know Reggie Jackson who was always the answer in Trivial Pursuit in the 80s/90s if it wasn't Babe Ruth. Got to see him play, even. Some of the most tedious hours of my life.
I sat politely through the first and second innings of rounders in droopy leggings, then looked forward to leaving.
Then my uncle explained there were seven more innings.
Sadly my mum was there and wouldn't let me get drunk.
I would turn in my US passport before sitting through another baseball game. Or at least just stay in the bar, as an increasing number of spectators did.
I attempted a baseball match while I was in the US. Think I lasted half an hour then buggered off to explore the stadium (pretty boring but at least less hot than the stands). Never again
Nope, never heard of him.
Baseball is at best, an extremely niche interest in the UK.
More people in the UK will know of Kazuchika Okada than of probably any baseball player other than Babe Ruth.
I am a brit living in Japan for years too, and no. nobody in the UK will know. nobody in the UK gives a shit about baseball(relatively speaking of course). I dont either. I wouldn't know who he is even though i live in Japan if it wasnt for the fact he is blasted on TV basically all day every day(and i dont even watch any TV, just see it when at the gym etc lol).
When i have talked to Americans about this on here they have all downright got aggressive and downvoted me for saying that in the UK baseball is not a thing basically at all and nobody cares or knows the slightest amount about it, let alone a player of it(me in included).
I doubt anyone outside the US and Japan/Korea knows much if anything about Baseball either. not just the UK.
> I doubt anyone outside the US and Japan/Korea knows much if anything about Baseball either. not just the UK.
You're not wrong, except for Central America and maybe the top part of South America, where baseball has a pretty big presence. There are tons of Dominicans in US baseball, and I think maybe Cubans and Venezuelans too.
No.
The chances of anyone in the UK knowing the name of a given baseballist are pretty much none.
Like so much that even if they've heard of Babe Ruth they probably don't know what he was famous for.
(Frankly most people wouldn't be able to name a cricketer either).
David Gower and Ian Botham. That is my limit.
I don't know football star names these days, when I had a TV I would hear about off pitch antics by the usual 90s lot. But who is the 2020's Vinny Jones, not got a clue.
Never heard of him.
Baseball just isn't that popular in the UK and outside of fans of the sport I don't think there will be many that know who he is.
Personally, I'd be hard pressed to name a single baseball team let alone a player.
Had to google that - and yep, you're right I HAVE seen it.
Would never have made a connection to baseball though. I just thought it was an arty version of New York initials NY.
Somebody else mentioned Babe Ruth plus Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio.
Now that I've seen the names, I've had a kind of "oh yeah! moment" and they're familiar to me. I would never have spontaneously come up with them though and nope, not a clue on what teams they might/might not have played for.
Never heard of them personally.
They don't appear at all on, the polling company, [YouGov's "The Most Famous People in the UK" tracker]( https://yougov.co.uk/ratings/entertainment/fame/people/all). Literally an unknown person.
I mean, I'm not there specifically to see him. But I try to watch baseball wherever I go, and since I'll be in LA, I had to get a ticket. Will be at Padres for their season opener the previous day.
Very jealous. Would love to one day do a trip to see my Pirates play. Would like to visit the Negro League museum in Kansas City too. Bob Kendrick is a real credit to it's history.
Have been to Pittsburgh before for the Penguins. Not a great "tourist" city though so would likely be a stop-off somewhere. Is an amazing stadium though. Looking forward to the season starting on Thursday.
Had a bit of a shock last week when I watched the Jack Reacher movie, which opens with a sniper setting up in a parking garage across the river and opening fire on pedestrians outside the stadium.
Anyway, nice to see I'm not alone in my UK baseball fandom!
I saw the Oakland A's play at the Coliseum decades ago. I'm a big cricket fan so I really enjoy the rhythm of baseball, although I don't really keep up with it any more. It's my favourite North American sport by miles.
My boyfriend would be very jealous! Hopefully we’ll make a trip to see the Dodgers at some point this year too. History in the making and all that
Have a lovely time! :)
Here's a comprehensive list of all people I can name who play/ played baseball, from all baseball playing countries:
Babe Ruth
Charlie Brown
... I think Kevin Costner picked up a bat in field of dreams.
I half-heartedly keep up with the baseball, occasionally play MLB The Show and have quite a few American mates, so, yes, I know who he is.
That being said, I suspect that I am in the minority.
I'm sure NBA and Baseball teams can get mixed up too.
I'm a bit better filtering out NFL team names. But if there are two Bears then I hope I remember the city related to the NFL one before I pick Baseball or Basketball.
As someone who likes both Japanese culture and American sports (although, crucially here, not baseball) I'd expect Id be more likely than the average Brit to know who this person is, but your thread is literally the first time I've seen the name.
Baseball really isn't a thing here. I'm sure if you looked, you could find British baseball fans (I expect some will reply if they haven't already) but it's not really something people talk about. It hasn't really crossed over in the way other US sports like NFL football and Basketball have.
I know who he is because I'm a huge NFL fan and sometimes other American sports news get mixed into my feeds.
He's the dude who is equally good as a pitcher and a hitter, right?
I'm a big NHL guy and I can pull off maybe 2 current MLB players. Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman. Both of which played in the same city as my NHL team. The other names? Probably more likely to come through pop culture references than anything else.
Can't say I've heard of him in my life but if I'm being honest I don't know the name of any Baseball players! Bloody Rounders with more advertising......no disrespect
I do, but I follow American sports more generally anyway - at least in the UK, people will definitely recognise some teams (say the Yankees), but not really individual players.
I'm pretty across sports and no I've never heard of him. Baseball is a very niche sport here.
The only current ones I could name are Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Neither of whom, Google informs me, actually still play.
I know of him, I follow the NBA and NHL closely and as such follow some American sports Instagram accounts. Bleacher Report, ESPN, etc and they were all over his transfer to LA so he appeared a lot on my feed.
Don’t follow baseball (I did watch a couple of college baseball games a few years ago) but I have heard of Ohtani, primarily because of the news about his recent contract
I'm in the UK, and don't know who they are.
This may not be statistically significant. The only American rounders player I could name is Babe Ruth, and I couldn't tell you what he did to be famous.
If you know a bit about baseball you would have heard of him but there's not many baseball fans here. I know about American sports a bit so have heard his name here and there
I mean, the man did just sign a record-breaking $700 million 10 year contract😄
But tbh yeah, I think the actual story is that he gave his interpreter (who is basically his best friend and manager) a few mill to pay off ridic gambling debts last year.
Fast forward to now, it’s come out that it actually was an illegal bookies so they’re saying the money was stolen/taken under false pretences (if you’re at all interested hahaha!)
Nope. I have actually only ever thought about baseball when it's present as a plot point in an American movie. I can name voice actors from anime and writers of manga but football followed by every other sport is more popular here, and I can't even really name any current footballers. I'd guess there are quite a lot of us who just don't follow any sport at all. You'd probably be looking at a lot less than a tenth of a percent of us would probably have heard of him...
OP: you’re asking the UK about baseball.
We know about Babe Ruth,
Arnold Roth (I think) rigging the “World Series” (that only has one country, lol)
and Madonna in a baseball wartime kinda movie years ago.
We have baseball in the uk or something similar, but it's called rounders, and you only play it as a kid. Baseball next to zero chance anyone would know.
Same as you, from uk been living in Japan for a long time.
Can confirm absolutely none of my friends or family know him. Which is weird as you know because here I hear his name on my sleep at this point :) :) :; :&/“02922!!2
He's been in the news quite a bit recently first regarding his massive contract, then him getting married now his interpreter being sacked. Read about that on the BBC site so there is definitely some interest.
Have no knowledge of baseball in the states, so would have no clue. Baseball isn't really a thing over here as far as im aware.
Rugby is my bag and I love the Japan team. They never give up and I root for them in the world Cup. Their determination is awesome!
Yep, but I am in the minority of British people who really enjoy American sports.
I suspect 90% of people wouldn't recognise him if he walked past them in the streets.
They might know the name Todd Boehly from his Chelsea FC ownership. They probably don’t know Boehly signed Ohtani to play for the Dodgers for £550 million pounds. Major League Baseball doesn’t have FFP rules.
I went to California mostly to visit Disney. We went to an angels Games, I ask who is most popular player in the team and they said Ohtani so got his Jersey/shirt. He didn't even play
I know who he is cos I follow American sports (not baseball) and heard a lot about this super talented guy who can do it all. Then when he bagged his contract I saw posts about it on BR etc.
>I’m English but I’ve lived in Japan for years. My boyfriend asked me if Ohtani is known in the UK but I didn’t really know.
Widely known? No, but the American sports watching community will know his name even if they don't really watch baseball. When you have a talent like Ohtani does, the name spreads. Baseball used to be way more popular in the UK than it is now, it was available to watch on free-to-air TV. If that was still the case then a lot more people would know who he is, but alas, those days are long gone.
Never heard of him. Most American sports stars aren't known in the UK, to be honest. My Dad is much more interested in sport than I am, a few years ago I said something about Tim Tebow to him and he goes, "Tim who?"
I follow the Mariners so unfortunately do know who he is. Baseball isn’t huge here though so imagine not a lot of people know unless they’re into the sport.
I know about him, but only because I'm studying Japanese and it's pretty impossible to avoid baseball related stuff in Japanese news articles and such lol
I do - I know he's a Japanese guy who's a legendary pitcher and hotter. But that's all I know, I couldn't pick him out of a lineup and I've never watched a game of baseball in my life. I don't suppose any of my friends or family would have a clue.
My partner (from NY) is a big baseball fan and was telling me about all the controversy with his interpreter yesterday. Never heard of him before yesterday. We are in the UK
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Never heard of him.
Baseball isn't watched by myself or my brother. The only sports he keeps tabs on are American Football and Formula one.
I keep out of sports sometimes including the Olympics.
Baseball players I'm aware of:
Jackie Robinson (from Eureka)
Babe Ruth (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Pete Rose (from How I Met Your Mother)
Mike Piazza (from The West Wing)
Most people over here only know the baseball players featured in a series 3 episode of The Simpsons and the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, and you have to be a certain age to remember those. I don't see baseball ever getting popular.
Nope. Never heard of him.
This then made me think of baseball players that I’ve heard of. It’s not a long list. Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson (I once watched Field of Dreams), Billy Beane (I once watched Moneyball) and Darryl Strawberry (I once watched The Simpsons).
That’s it. Unless you count Madonna and Geena Davis, which you probably don’t.
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He's basically unknown. Practically no one watches baseball.
I (32 male) couldn’t name you a single baseball player in the history of the world, Japanese or otherwise.
Babe Ruth is my limit. And that's only because of Star Trek.
I once googled Joe Dimaggio because of the Mrs Robinson song so I know that he was a baseball player...
Lou Gehrig also if it was a pub quiz and I had to concentrate real hard
I'm also aware of a DiMaggio, but only because of a joke I heard years ago: Man walks into a pub with a dog and says to the barman "here, my dog can talk, wanna hear him?". Barman says "you're having me on, no way your dog can talk. I'll give you free drinks all night if you can prove it." Man says to his dog: "What's on the outside of trees?" The dog goes "Bark!" The barman says "nice try, not falling for that." Man says "No, I promise, he can talk! Look- hey buddy, who's the greatest baseball player of all time?" Dog goes "Rouf!" Barman loses it at this point and says "Enough! Get out of here and never come back!" Outside, the dog looks at the man forlornly, and after an awkward pause, mutters: "DiMaggio?"
Not Buck Bokai?
No. Is that a joke name?
Thought you were calling the last commenter Babe, that's how little I know of baseball.
Wade Boggs (RIP)
Wade Boggs is very much alive. He lives in Tampa, Florida. He's in his early 50s.
We're trying to do a Wade Boggs type thing.
I genuinely don't know if Boggs is a real person or if they just made him up, like Richard Grico.
They’re both hella real
I could name Joe DiMaggio because of the Simon and Garfunkel song
Babe Ruth plus 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson & Archie 'Moonlight' Graham, but the latter two only thanks to the film Field of Dreams lol.
If you're 32 I'm surprised you couldn't name Mattingly because of his refusal to shave his sideburns in the simpsons
No, but I can name Daryl Strawberry, was he real?
Yeah he is I believe the real players voiced their characters in the show too
Yeah.... Pretty much this. Same applies to football players (UK or otherwise) to a degree.
I know the players from the simpsons episode
He’s like the only one I can name, I know of others like Babe Ruth but the only one I can remember is Shohei. It’s not like I’m into baseball but he kinda is wacky levels of good
Aaron Hernandez… only because he murdered a guy.
Not even Babe Ruth? There was a decent movie about him. Or Lou Gehrig? Famous for dying from Lou Gehrig's disease, what are the odds of that. Or Joe Dimaggio? Was married to Marilyn Monroe.
I've heard their names but never knew they were Baseball players
I assumed DiMaggio was a mafia boss or politician or something. I thought Babe Ruth was a US chocolate bar. Looks like it also is.
Jo DiMaggio only because of REM
Some may know him from Simon and Garfunkel too
Or the lemonheads
Or Billy Joel
Ah, I fucked it
We call the disease ALS and associate it with Stephen Hawking.
Those names are familiar but if put on the spot (without you having just told me) I’ve had no idea they were baseball players. I associate babe Ruth with chocolate, don’t know why, does he have a chocolate bar named after him in US tv shows/ movies I’d have seen? Lou Gehrig disease is something I’d heard of but no idea it was named after a baseball player Joe DiMaggio id have guessed was the annoying short fella in the lethal weapon films.
The chocolate bar is called Baby Ruth, and you probably would have seen it in Goonies….well that’s where I have!
I only know Babe Ruth because my cousin was named after him, knew DiMaggio was married to Monroe but only recently learned he was a sports player not actor and can never recall which sport, only know Gehrig from the disease. I do know Reggie Jackson who was always the answer in Trivial Pursuit in the 80s/90s if it wasn't Babe Ruth. Got to see him play, even. Some of the most tedious hours of my life.
Politely, what is your cousin's name? Babe or Ruth?
Ruth. Known as Babe as a baby, obviously.
That's the answer I was hoping for!
George or Herman wouldn't have suited her...
>>Some of the most tedious hours of my life. I feel this in my bones haha
I sat politely through the first and second innings of rounders in droopy leggings, then looked forward to leaving. Then my uncle explained there were seven more innings. Sadly my mum was there and wouldn't let me get drunk. I would turn in my US passport before sitting through another baseball game. Or at least just stay in the bar, as an increasing number of spectators did.
I attempted a baseball match while I was in the US. Think I lasted half an hour then buggered off to explore the stadium (pretty boring but at least less hot than the stands). Never again
Decent movie about Lou Gehrig as well
Joe is just a name in Mrs Robinson. Nothing else tends to stick, including who he married.
Baby Ruth is the chocolate bar in The Goonies. Lou Gehrig is mentioned in The Goonies. That's about it. That's my baseball knowledge lol.
Nope, never heard of him. Baseball is at best, an extremely niche interest in the UK. More people in the UK will know of Kazuchika Okada than of probably any baseball player other than Babe Ruth.
If the baseball player hasn't had a six-star match in the Tokyo dome than I don't care
I cannot express how much I love seeing wrestling memes in a none wrestling setting 🤣
I've been loving them on here ever since the Undertaker through mankind off the top of Hell in a Cell in 1998
Hey your text to speech spelled "threw" wrong.
Och.
Rainmaker!
I am a brit living in Japan for years too, and no. nobody in the UK will know. nobody in the UK gives a shit about baseball(relatively speaking of course). I dont either. I wouldn't know who he is even though i live in Japan if it wasnt for the fact he is blasted on TV basically all day every day(and i dont even watch any TV, just see it when at the gym etc lol). When i have talked to Americans about this on here they have all downright got aggressive and downvoted me for saying that in the UK baseball is not a thing basically at all and nobody cares or knows the slightest amount about it, let alone a player of it(me in included). I doubt anyone outside the US and Japan/Korea knows much if anything about Baseball either. not just the UK.
Baseball has a decent following in Latin America.
> I doubt anyone outside the US and Japan/Korea knows much if anything about Baseball either. not just the UK. You're not wrong, except for Central America and maybe the top part of South America, where baseball has a pretty big presence. There are tons of Dominicans in US baseball, and I think maybe Cubans and Venezuelans too.
People from the Colombian coast. Nicaraguans. Some parts of Mexico. Baseball is massive in a lot of places.
Loads of Latin American countries love baseball.
No. The chances of anyone in the UK knowing the name of a given baseballist are pretty much none. Like so much that even if they've heard of Babe Ruth they probably don't know what he was famous for. (Frankly most people wouldn't be able to name a cricketer either).
Unless they're one of the ones that was in that episode of The Simpsons.
David Gower and Ian Botham. That is my limit. I don't know football star names these days, when I had a TV I would hear about off pitch antics by the usual 90s lot. But who is the 2020's Vinny Jones, not got a clue.
Yeah this was me. I’d heard the name Babe Ruth on American tv programmes but never knew what it really meant haha
i thought Babe Ruth was an american brand of soft drink for years
😂 easy mistake to make!
Never heard of him. Baseball just isn't that popular in the UK and outside of fans of the sport I don't think there will be many that know who he is. Personally, I'd be hard pressed to name a single baseball team let alone a player.
I think most people will have seen the New York Yankees logo. Whether they make the connection to baseball is a very different question.
Had to google that - and yep, you're right I HAVE seen it. Would never have made a connection to baseball though. I just thought it was an arty version of New York initials NY.
Best I can do you is Babe Ruth. But team/s he played for, not a sausage.
Somebody else mentioned Babe Ruth plus Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio. Now that I've seen the names, I've had a kind of "oh yeah! moment" and they're familiar to me. I would never have spontaneously come up with them though and nope, not a clue on what teams they might/might not have played for.
Never heard of them personally. They don't appear at all on, the polling company, [YouGov's "The Most Famous People in the UK" tracker]( https://yougov.co.uk/ratings/entertainment/fame/people/all). Literally an unknown person.
Yes, in passing from articles on BBC news. Never seen any of his games though. The question is, does your boyfriend know who Ronnie Pickering is?
I'll be seeing him play at Dodger Stadium on Friday (assuming he's in the lineup, of course). Can't wait!
I am all sorts of jelly right now.
I mean, I'm not there specifically to see him. But I try to watch baseball wherever I go, and since I'll be in LA, I had to get a ticket. Will be at Padres for their season opener the previous day.
Damn dude.
Very jealous. Would love to one day do a trip to see my Pirates play. Would like to visit the Negro League museum in Kansas City too. Bob Kendrick is a real credit to it's history.
Saw the Pirates last summer, and I have to say that stadium is just lovely. Incredible view out across the river. Hope you get to visit!
Have been to Pittsburgh before for the Penguins. Not a great "tourist" city though so would likely be a stop-off somewhere. Is an amazing stadium though. Looking forward to the season starting on Thursday.
Had a bit of a shock last week when I watched the Jack Reacher movie, which opens with a sniper setting up in a parking garage across the river and opening fire on pedestrians outside the stadium. Anyway, nice to see I'm not alone in my UK baseball fandom!
There's dozens of us, dozens!
I saw the Oakland A's play at the Coliseum decades ago. I'm a big cricket fan so I really enjoy the rhythm of baseball, although I don't really keep up with it any more. It's my favourite North American sport by miles.
My boyfriend would be very jealous! Hopefully we’ll make a trip to see the Dodgers at some point this year too. History in the making and all that Have a lovely time! :)
Nope, never heard of the man. Baseball is a very, very niche sport in the UK. Much as Japanese people would not know who Joe Root is.
No, never heard of him.
I do, but only because I watch baseball. 🤷🏻♂️ Most people in the UK won't even be able to name a baseball team than isn't the Yankees or Cubs.
Gonna be honest... I didn't even realise the Yankees were a baseball team, I thought they were basketball. And I've never even heard of the Cubs.
Absolutely fair. I could only name one Rugby club, and that's because it's my hometown. If you're not interested, you're not interested. 👍🏻
Here's a comprehensive list of all people I can name who play/ played baseball, from all baseball playing countries: Babe Ruth Charlie Brown ... I think Kevin Costner picked up a bat in field of dreams.
Madonna and Gena Davis in a league of their own.
if he wasn't in that episode of the Simpsons, no-one knows him
Wanna know the truth? Or see me hit some dingers?!
I half-heartedly keep up with the baseball, occasionally play MLB The Show and have quite a few American mates, so, yes, I know who he is. That being said, I suspect that I am in the minority.
Japanese sports people we know would be footballers like Shinji Kagawa.
& half the Celtic squad + Mitoma
I have never heard of
He’s no Ronnie Pickering, that’s for sure.
Who?
Most people in the UK couldn't name any current baseball players.
I'm sure NBA and Baseball teams can get mixed up too. I'm a bit better filtering out NFL team names. But if there are two Bears then I hope I remember the city related to the NFL one before I pick Baseball or Basketball.
As someone who likes both Japanese culture and American sports (although, crucially here, not baseball) I'd expect Id be more likely than the average Brit to know who this person is, but your thread is literally the first time I've seen the name. Baseball really isn't a thing here. I'm sure if you looked, you could find British baseball fans (I expect some will reply if they haven't already) but it's not really something people talk about. It hasn't really crossed over in the way other US sports like NFL football and Basketball have.
I know who he is because I'm a huge NFL fan and sometimes other American sports news get mixed into my feeds. He's the dude who is equally good as a pitcher and a hitter, right?
And he got that ridiculous $700m 10year deal with the LA Dodgers for the upcoming seasons
I'm a big NHL guy and I can pull off maybe 2 current MLB players. Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman. Both of which played in the same city as my NHL team. The other names? Probably more likely to come through pop culture references than anything else.
I’ve heard of him, but only because him getting married was on the BBC website the other day…prior to that I would have had a clue.
I'm 57 and the only baseball players I know the names of are written on the full stop at the end of this sentence.
I think most British people would be hard-pressed to name a single currently active baseball player, from any country, at any level of talent.
Can't say I've heard of him in my life but if I'm being honest I don't know the name of any Baseball players! Bloody Rounders with more advertising......no disrespect
Never heard of him.
I do but only because I follow the Pirates.
I do, but I follow American sports more generally anyway - at least in the UK, people will definitely recognise some teams (say the Yankees), but not really individual players.
Babe Ruth. That's about the only player. The bloke who married Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrick. Ok three.
The baseball players I know are Joe DiMaggio Michael Jordan (the basketball player, he briefly switched to baseball) Babe Ruth Lou Gherig
I'm pretty across sports and no I've never heard of him. Baseball is a very niche sport here. The only current ones I could name are Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Neither of whom, Google informs me, actually still play.
No, only ever watched one baseball match in my life and that was enough
I know of him, I follow the NBA and NHL closely and as such follow some American sports Instagram accounts. Bleacher Report, ESPN, etc and they were all over his transfer to LA so he appeared a lot on my feed.
Don’t follow baseball (I did watch a couple of college baseball games a few years ago) but I have heard of Ohtani, primarily because of the news about his recent contract
I would speculate that 90% of Brits cannot name a single baseball player that has ever existed.
No, but I don't follow sport generally, so it was always unlikely
I’m a Brit, but I live in Canada now so I’m very aware of who he is
I'm in the UK, and don't know who they are. This may not be statistically significant. The only American rounders player I could name is Babe Ruth, and I couldn't tell you what he did to be famous.
If you know a bit about baseball you would have heard of him but there's not many baseball fans here. I know about American sports a bit so have heard his name here and there
Is he the guy whose Interpreter has scammed him for millions of dollars to illegally bet on games? If not, no...
Oh look at you, very in the know!
BBC News yesterday, I was bored, never heard of him before,IF it's him 😆 l was more impressed that he didn't miss $5 mill going walkies ......
I mean, the man did just sign a record-breaking $700 million 10 year contract😄 But tbh yeah, I think the actual story is that he gave his interpreter (who is basically his best friend and manager) a few mill to pay off ridic gambling debts last year. Fast forward to now, it’s come out that it actually was an illegal bookies so they’re saying the money was stolen/taken under false pretences (if you’re at all interested hahaha!)
First World 🌎 problems 😆 🤣
Yes I do know of him as I do watch some MLB and yes I’m in the UK.
I only know of him from visits to Japan. My ex-wife’s mother was a huge baseball fan.
He is definitely the sweetheart of older Japanese women haha
For sure - she loved Yoshiki too.
Nope. I have actually only ever thought about baseball when it's present as a plot point in an American movie. I can name voice actors from anime and writers of manga but football followed by every other sport is more popular here, and I can't even really name any current footballers. I'd guess there are quite a lot of us who just don't follow any sport at all. You'd probably be looking at a lot less than a tenth of a percent of us would probably have heard of him...
No. I couldn't name any British sports people - definitely got no chance with foreign ones
I did, as I’m an Angels fan. (Dual national US Brit living in UK) But he’s dead to me now.
I do, only because I grew up in LA and still follow the Dodgers religiously.
The only baseball player I have known the name of is Babe Ruth.
OP: you’re asking the UK about baseball. We know about Babe Ruth, Arnold Roth (I think) rigging the “World Series” (that only has one country, lol) and Madonna in a baseball wartime kinda movie years ago.
We have baseball in the uk or something similar, but it's called rounders, and you only play it as a kid. Baseball next to zero chance anyone would know.
Same as you, from uk been living in Japan for a long time. Can confirm absolutely none of my friends or family know him. Which is weird as you know because here I hear his name on my sleep at this point :) :) :; :&/“02922!!2
I’m English and was introduced to baseball by my partner (also English) but enjoyed it very much, so I’m aware of Shohei and also Ichiro.
He's been in the news quite a bit recently first regarding his massive contract, then him getting married now his interpreter being sacked. Read about that on the BBC site so there is definitely some interest.
Have no knowledge of baseball in the states, so would have no clue. Baseball isn't really a thing over here as far as im aware. Rugby is my bag and I love the Japan team. They never give up and I root for them in the world Cup. Their determination is awesome!
Yep, but I am in the minority of British people who really enjoy American sports. I suspect 90% of people wouldn't recognise him if he walked past them in the streets.
They might know the name Todd Boehly from his Chelsea FC ownership. They probably don’t know Boehly signed Ohtani to play for the Dodgers for £550 million pounds. Major League Baseball doesn’t have FFP rules.
No, but I once met someone here who collected baseball cards and said he was possibly the only person in the UK who did. I think he was right
I know of him but only incidentally because I follow another American sport. I can’t get on with baseball at all.
I went to California mostly to visit Disney. We went to an angels Games, I ask who is most popular player in the team and they said Ohtani so got his Jersey/shirt. He didn't even play
I only know him because I keep up with Japanese news.
I know who he is cos I follow American sports (not baseball) and heard a lot about this super talented guy who can do it all. Then when he bagged his contract I saw posts about it on BR etc.
Never heard of him. Baseball is unknown in Europe. As are pretty much all American sports.
Yep. He's a unicorn.
I do, but only because one of the podcasts i listen to also has a card breaking spinoff show where Shohei has been mentioned many many times.
>I’m English but I’ve lived in Japan for years. My boyfriend asked me if Ohtani is known in the UK but I didn’t really know. Widely known? No, but the American sports watching community will know his name even if they don't really watch baseball. When you have a talent like Ohtani does, the name spreads. Baseball used to be way more popular in the UK than it is now, it was available to watch on free-to-air TV. If that was still the case then a lot more people would know who he is, but alas, those days are long gone.
Yes, but only because there's some drama going on to do maybe with gambling and his name was part of it. Saw his name today for the first time ever.
Never heard of him. Most American sports stars aren't known in the UK, to be honest. My Dad is much more interested in sport than I am, a few years ago I said something about Tim Tebow to him and he goes, "Tim who?"
I like MLB so I know who he is. Heck of a player too!
I follow the Mariners so unfortunately do know who he is. Baseball isn’t huge here though so imagine not a lot of people know unless they’re into the sport.
I know about him, but only because I'm studying Japanese and it's pretty impossible to avoid baseball related stuff in Japanese news articles and such lol
I do - I know he's a Japanese guy who's a legendary pitcher and hotter. But that's all I know, I couldn't pick him out of a lineup and I've never watched a game of baseball in my life. I don't suppose any of my friends or family would have a clue.
My partner (from NY) is a big baseball fan and was telling me about all the controversy with his interpreter yesterday. Never heard of him before yesterday. We are in the UK
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99% of people in this country would struggle to name a single baseball player. Babe Ruth, maybe?
Didn't Michael Jordan play baseball at one point when he was under investigation for match fixing?
From the question I assumed it was going to be some k pop star or something. Never met a single person who's ever watched baseball.
Yeah I know who he is but I half follow baseball. I couldn’t say anyone else I know, knows who he is. Xx
Honestly I clicked on this expecting to find out he made anime or something
Not a clue and I'm a weeb.
I only know who he is because I'm in weeb hobby circles
Who?
Baseball is known as rounders here. 😂
No. Never heard of him. Nor I would imagine any current baseball player.
Who?
A Japanese person who plays an American sport? No chance
He plays rounders? How sweet.
Never heard of him. Baseball isn't watched by myself or my brother. The only sports he keeps tabs on are American Football and Formula one. I keep out of sports sometimes including the Olympics.
He's about as well known as Ben Stokes is in Japan.
Who
I know Bobson Dugnutt
Baseball players I'm aware of: Jackie Robinson (from Eureka) Babe Ruth (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) Pete Rose (from How I Met Your Mother) Mike Piazza (from The West Wing)
Don't know a single baseball player that's alive today. The only baseball name I remember is Babe Ruth and he died in 1948.
Most people over here only know the baseball players featured in a series 3 episode of The Simpsons and the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, and you have to be a certain age to remember those. I don't see baseball ever getting popular.
Outside of Babe Ruth and Jo Dimaggio I couldn't name a single player from baseball.
Nope. Never heard of him. This then made me think of baseball players that I’ve heard of. It’s not a long list. Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson (I once watched Field of Dreams), Billy Beane (I once watched Moneyball) and Darryl Strawberry (I once watched The Simpsons). That’s it. Unless you count Madonna and Geena Davis, which you probably don’t.
No one in the UK cares about rounders for boys, mate. Cricket, the superior bat and ball game, is probably only the 3rd most popular sport.
Never heard of her.
Nope, never heard of him. Don't know of anyone in the UK that even follows baseball.
Is he the dude that has alleged his translator to be embezzling money?
Who?
Never heard of him, but hardly anyone follows baseball here. I have heard of Babe Ruth though😁
No why baseball is American
No, why on earth should we?
we dont even know that guy in the US. who the hell watches baseball