Japan’s affinity for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani examined in ‘Searching for Ohtani’

In the process, says Verlander, the younger brother of two-time Cy Young, MVP winner and World Series champion Justin Verlander, he also discovered his true meaning.

Verlander spent 10 days in Japan last month traveling to Shohei Ohtani’s hometown, going to ballgames, visiting Ohtani’s former coaches and teammates, his hometown mayor, fans and children, and returning for a one-hour interview with Ohtani in Los Angeles.

It will all be unveiled in Fox Sports’ show “Searching for Shohei: An Interview Special”, a 60-minute show produced by sports media company Religion of Sports, which will be broadcast Oct. 18 on FS1 after Game 1 of the ALCS. ...

“I was told by so many people in Japan that people there aren’t the most outspoken,” Verlander said. “They don’t speak up, don’t speak boldly, so I am their voice on the other side of the world. How can you not be affected by that?

“When I got over there, I was blown away by the response. The response was unbelievable. There were grown adults coming to see me, some traveling four hours, coming to see me for meet-ups. There were gifts, magazines, posts with my picture on them.

“There were kids who broke into tears. One girl burst into tears and couldn’t bring herself together. I was blown away. Kids there were asking for my autograph. It was emotional for me, emotional for them.

“Looking back, I saw some of the coolest things in the world.

“Really, it was the coolest experience in my life.”