In a country where baseball already pulses through the culture like oxygen, Ohtani has turned passion into obsession. According to a YouGov Sport survey, nearly 8 in 10 Japanese fans now say he's one of their favorite MLB players, and more importantly, 79 percent admit he's the reason their interest in Major League Baseball has grown.

Aaron Judge and the United States will face the Dominican Republic in the semifinals of the WBC and the Yankees slugger takes us inside his mindset.

ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L. A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L. A. Angels for MLB. com from 2012 to 2016.