Shohei Ohtani Embraces $5,000 Worth Japanese Heritage While Signing Historic $700M Deal With LA Dodgers

The LA Dodgers broke all records when they signed Shohei Ohtani on a monumental $700 million deal last week. For his official introduction, the Japanese phenom appeared at Dodger Stadium for a conference with the media and fans. Shotime showed up donning a Blue Crew jersey and a timepiece that had a special story behind it.

Starting from his childhood home to making a mark in the Nippon Baseball League, the unicorn holds the Land of the Rising Sun close to his heart. Ohtani has seldom failed to show his appreciation for his homeland, from gratefulness for its culture and winning the WBC for Japan. And the slugger’s latest deal with a watch brand proves it.

The heartfelt story behind Shohei Ohtani’s choice of timepiece

For a player who has just bagged a $700 million deal, one would expect Shohei Ohtani to celebrate that by splurging on a million-dollar watch studded with diamonds and other luxuries. But with an endless capacity to surprise, he chose to go a different way.

The two-way wonder boy was seen wearing a Grand Seiko SBGM221 that, per GQ, cost less than $5000. His choice of accessory revealed his innate love for Japan, given how deeply rooted the brand is. The features of the watch make it an exceptional craftpiece.

The SBGM221 comes in a steel housing with a box-like sapphire crystal, along with Zaratsu-polished lugs. The model was inspired by its classic 20th-century Seiko predecessors, though unlike them, it clocks below 40mm. It has an ivory dial that includes indices, a 24-hour tracker in black, and polished dauphine hands with an arrow-like blue GMT hand. What makes Grand Seiko so special for Shohei Ohtani to have chosen it?

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The markets of Japan have been adorned by Grand Seiko timepieces since they began their journey there back in 1960. The brand itself is a part of Seiko watches, which are famous for manufacturing watches that look good both in cost and class. However, the “Grand” part of the Seiko franchise focuses on making watches that can fetch a value as low as a few thousand dollars—to several thousand ones.

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Shohei Ohtani could’ve gone for any watch he wanted. His showing up at the Dodgers conference donning the crafty little Japanese machinery only proves that he will carry his country in his heart, regardless of his stature and the nature of his career, in the future.