Sawt Falasteen - Ohtani fever hits South Korea as Dodgers light up Seoul

Ohtani and the Dodgers are in Seoul this week to play the San Diego Padres in two games as Major League Baseball opens its season in South Korea for the first time.

Ohtani will make his Dodgers regular-season debut after joining the team in December on a 10-year deal worth $700 million -- the richest contract in North American sporting history.

The 29-year-old attracted even more global attention when he announced last month that he had gotten married.

Fans wearing white and blue shirts bearing Ohtani's name and number 17 packed Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome as the Dodgers played South Korea's national team in a warm-up to prepare for the Padres.

"He's God," 27-year-old fan Kang Ji-ho told AFP outside the stadium.

"Better than Babe Ruth," he added, referring to the American baseball legend who like Ohtani was renowned for his rare ability to both pitch and hit.

Ohtani did not take batting practice with his teammates before the game but he drew a loud cheer from the crowd when he emerged for the game.

"Ohtani is very popular," said 20-year-old student Ji Won-heo, wearing a blue Dodgers cap.

"He's handsome, kind and he plays baseball well."

- Cross-border popularity -

Ohtani won his second American League Most Valuable Player Award in six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels last year before departing for free agency.

He is a national hero in his native Japan, even more so after leading the country's national team to victory in last year's World Baseball Classic.

But his popularity also translates to South Korea, where baseball is arguably the country's number one sport.

"Japanese players are not popular in Korea but Ohtani is different," said Kang.

"He plays pitcher and hitter, and he's the first player with 10 wins and 10 homers" since Ruth.

Hundreds of fans greeted the Dodgers at South Korea's Incheon airport on Friday, with some screaming Ohtani's name and holding up shirts with his name on them.

But the Padres will also be well supported when they play their MLB rivals on Wednesday and Thursday, especially with South Korean star Kim Ha-seong in their line-up.

There were plenty of Padres shirts in the crowd when San Diego played local team the LG Twins earlier on Monday.

"I'm very excited," said Padres fan Kim Hyun-gu.

"I have a lot of expectations for the Padres against Dodgers game but I will watch it on TV because I couldn't get a ticket."

Padres fan Derek Almero had flown all the way from his native San Diego to watch his team in action.

"It was fun -- definitely an experience, different from US baseball," he said.

"The crowd experience is definitely different, it's a much smaller stadium so it's a lot more intimate."

Almero also had a message for Ohtani as the Japanese star prepares to make his regular-season debut for the Dodgers.

"He's on the wrong team," said the 39-year-old Almero.

"But he's definitely something special."

H.Darwish--SF-PST