{"id":697435,"date":"2026-05-13T01:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/697435\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T01:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:06:18","slug":"behind-the-press-corps-following-a-single-toronto-blue-jay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/697435\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the press corps following a single Toronto Blue Jay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto examines his bat during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre.John E. Sokolowski\/Reuters<\/p>\n

On the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019<\/a> media seating chart, Canadian, American and other outlets fill most of the 101-seat press box located on the 300-level of the Rogers Centre, with plenty of room for public relations to spare. <\/p>\n

Spanning eight consecutive spots in the middle of the chart are four outlets, two seats per organization, primarily covering one Blue Jay \u2013 rookie Kazuma Okamoto. The four are all part of the Japanese press corps. <\/p>\n

Okamoto, 29, spent 11 years in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yomiuri Giants, where he earned six all-star nods, before coming to Toronto. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thankful and grateful that the Japanese media is following me around,\u201d Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. \u201cAnd [I] definitely feel the support back home.\u201d <\/p>\n

Okamoto isn\u2019t the only Japanese MLB<\/a> player to warrant attention from his home country. Players like Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida have Japanese media, whether it\u2019s a handful or over a dozen, consistently covering them. <\/p>\n

Kazuma Okamoto signed a four-year, US$60-million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Major League Baseball after an 11-year run in Japan.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

During Ohtani\u2019s rookie season with the Angels, The Globe and Mail reported that around 25 members of the Japanese media travelled on the road to cover the superstar specifically. That count ballooned above 50 at home games in Anaheim.<\/p>\n

George Springer, an admitted \u201cpretty low-key guy,\u201d commended how Okamoto deals with the media attention. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe seems to handle it in his own way,\u201d Springer said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously very popular in his home country, and he\u2019s very popular here, so it\u2019s cool.\u201d <\/p>\n

Part of that popularity stems from where Okamoto played before Toronto. Junko Ichimura, a contracted writer for Hochi Shimbun, a Japanese sports newspaper, said Okamato\u2019s a \u201cbig deal to Japanese readers.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a Japanese player comes [to North America], in their first year, people want to know how they play,\u201d Ichimura said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a big name in Japan for years.\u201d <\/p>\n

Blue Jays, and Toronto, have already embraced newcomer Kazuma Okamoto<\/a><\/p>\n

Cathal Kelly; By signing Kazuma Okamoto, the Blue Jays are starting to look like a team of the world<\/a><\/p>\n

On the homepage of Hochi Shimbun, it\u2019s common to see articles specifically on Japanese MLB players, like Okamoto, which focus on their performance before diving into other tidbits from any given game if warranted.<\/p>\n

Ichimura said that while she doesn\u2019t solely focus on Okamoto, that\u2019s where the bulk of her attention lies. When she began her journalism career in 1989, there were no active Japanese players in MLB. <\/p>\n

But in 1995, Hideo Nomo joined the Los Angeles Dodgers \u2013 Japan\u2019s first big-league player since Masanori Murakami. Ichimura said that moment opened the door for Japanese players and reporters alike. <\/p>\n

Kiyoko Taniguchi, a freelance writer for Kyodo News, also harked back to Nomo\u2019s North American debut. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody paid attention to the Japanese-born player,\u201d Taniguchi said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big story, and since then we\u2019ve had more Japanese players [in MLB]. They\u2019re already famous, so people want to know how they\u2019re doing here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

There are four Japanese news outlets tracking every move and word from Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.Chris O’Meara\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Ichimura splits time between Toronto, where she covers Okamoto, and her home in New Hampshire, where she commutes to Boston to cover Yoshida. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs more players come, I have more assignments here,\u201d Ichimura said. <\/p>\n

As for the inverse, she remembered Andruw Jones, a 2026 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, during his brief stint in Japan. Ichimura, who spent one-third of the year in hotels last season due to travel, doesn\u2019t recall the Willemstad, Cura\u00e7ao, native having American or Cura\u00e7aoan media following him. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe budget-wise we are allowed to do that, because it costs a lot of money,\u201d Ichimura said on why Japanese outlets fund player-specific coverage. \u201c[Readers] want more detail, and then we\u2019re competing [against each other], so multiple companies send reporters here. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see many the other way around.\u201d <\/p>\n

What the Blue Jays\u2019 pre-game ritual can teach us about gratitude<\/a><\/p>\n

While North American wire services will provide coverage on contests featuring Okamoto, Ichimura said readers want Okamoto-focused news on how he does and what he says. The type of information where in-person, player-specific reporting is typically required. <\/p>\n

Part of that reporting means navigating the challenges of player-centric coverage in a team-based sport. If Okamoto has an individually great game amid a hideous team loss, the media contingent understands if he wants space. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows why we\u2019re here, and he knows our responsibility, so he\u2019s trying to be available as much as he can,\u201d Ichimura said. \u201cIf [Toronto] loses badly and he has a couple of hits \u2013 he doesn\u2019t want to call attention to himself \u2013 sometimes he\u2019ll ask to be excused, and we\u2019ll respect that. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe cares about the clubhouse.\u201d <\/p>\n

Okamoto, a self-described \u201cman of few words,\u201d said having media members able to speak his native language can make things easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nuances could be difficult sometimes,\u201d Okamoto said about speaking through an interpreter. \u201cBut being able to have access to a translator has been a huge help.\u201d <\/p>\n

As for what he thinks of Toronto during his first couple of months in the city? Okamoto lived up to his self-proclamation. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto examines his bat during the third…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2302],"tags":[7508,7493,5,7509,5965,5961,7510,1465,7488,7499,7500,7495,7489,7487,6589,7506,7504,7498,7492,7521,7490,7491,7497,7494,5826,1358,7511,5755,7516,7517,2353,7519,7514,2352,7518,7512,7515,5719,7502,7503,1239,7501,7513,317,7505,7507,7496,4750,6984,7520],"class_list":{"0":"post-697435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-npb","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-bc","12":"tag-breaking-news","13":"tag-breaking-news-video","14":"tag-british-columbia","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-nippon-professional-baseball","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-npb","42":"tag-nunavut","43":"tag-ontario","44":"tag-pei","45":"tag-photos","46":"tag-political-news","47":"tag-political-opinion","48":"tag-politics","49":"tag-politics-news","50":"tag-quebec","51":"tag-sports-news","52":"tag-technology","53":"tag-travel","54":"tag-trudeau","55":"tag-us-news","56":"tag-world-news","57":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}