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City Of Beppu Criticized For Displaying Baseball Gloves Donated By Shohei Ohtani

Matt Borelli
3 Min Read
Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Back in November when he was a free agent, Shohei Ohtani announced on Instagram that he intended to donate around 60,000 baseball gloves to elementary schools in the country.

It was a grand gesture as there are approximately 20,000 elementary schools in Japan, sending about three to each school.

The baseball gloves arrived earlier this month, but not were not immediately delivered to the students. Instead, mayor of Beppu Yasuhiro Nagano put some on display at the municipal office.

This decision drew widespread criticism on social media, via The Japan Times:

A municipal government in Japan has been criticized on social media for having displayed youth baseball gloves donated by Shohei Ohtani at its office instead of delivering them to elementary school children as he had wished.

Nagano said he didn’t send the gloves to the elementary schools because he wanted the citizens of Japan to see Ohtani’s gift in person:

Yasuhiro Nagano, mayor of Beppu in southwestern Japan, told a news conference on Wednesday that he “wanted to make citizens and children happy” by displaying the gifts from the major league superstar.

Due to the disapproval, the city’s government agreed to shorten the period that the gloves were displayed and distributed them to the schools last Friday:

Given the criticism, the municipal government has shortened the period that the gloves will be displayed for and will distribute them to schools in the city on Friday.

Ohtani said his motive for donating the gloves was to make the children happy and grow the game of baseball in his native Japan.

The two-time American League MVP has given back to the community on several occasions, including during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when he donated supplies to hospital workers.

Ohtani also donated his $150,000 earnings from the 2021 Home Run Dery to Angels employees.

Shohei Ohtani thanked Dodgers during 2023 AL MVP Award speech

Ohtani accepted his 2023 AL MVP Award at the annual Baseball Writers’ Association of America dinner in New York over the weekend and alluded to the Dodgers in his speech.

“I’m looking forward to this next phase in my career,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.

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Matt Borelli covers the Los Angeles Dodgers as a staff writer for Dodger Blue and holds similar responsibilities for Lakers Nation, a sister site with an emphasis on the Los Angeles Lakers. He also contributes to RamsNewswire.com and RaidersNewswire.com. An avid fantasy sports player, Matt is a former 2014 MLB Beat the Streak co-champion. His favorite Dodgers moment, among a list of many, is Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies in 2014. Follow him on Twitter: @mcborelli.