For quiet stars like Lionel Messi and Shohei Ohtani, there is no language barrier in the U.S.

The Athletic has live coverage of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut.

Lionel Messi has arrived in America to become the latest global icon to try to grow the game of soccer in the United States. Some have questioned whether the fact that he doesn’t speak English publicly will hinder that quest — in his Inter Miami unveiling video, Messi’s only words were in Spanish. But another relatively recent stateside arrival, baseball star Shohei Ohtani, offers a counterargument to the idea of a language barrier. The Athletic baseball writers Fabian Ardaya and Sam Blum, who have both closely covered Ohtani, explain.

As the biggest transaction in MLS history was finalized, Lionel Messi understood the moment. The news had leaked from a trickle to a waterfall that morning, but didn’t feel real until Messi sat in front of cameras in an exclusive interview with a pair of Spanish outlets and confirmed it himself – the Argentine star, perhaps the greatest player of all-time, was coming stateside to play for Inter Miami.

Messi turned 36 years old during this summer, which has felt like an extended celebration of the 2022 World Cup champion and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and his legacy. Even if you didn’t hear much of Messi outside of those brief comments, you saw plenty of him. You didn’t need to hear from him; listen to him speak at his introductory press conference, and you won’t hear much, anyway.

It’s as much a personal choice as it is any potential language barrier. Messi has always been soft-spoken, letting his incredible skill on the pitch do most of the talking for him — similar to another sports star currently captivating fans in the U.S.

GO DEEPER

Inside the Lionel Messi to Inter Miami deal — seeing off Saudis, equity offers and Beckham and Co.'s secret trip

When Shohei Ohtani — a two-way Japanese baseball marvel who hits and pitches at a level not seen since Babe Ruth — embarked on his historic Major League Baseball journey, the most notable thing he did in his introductory December 2017 press conference wasn’t anything he said in response to a question from the waiting media. It was his decision to step to the podium and introduce himself in English, a chance to mark his impression.

While some comments he’s made in the years since have drawn headlines, Ohtani’s presence in American culture is based primarily on what he does, what we see, the clear sense of humor and competitive fire he has with his teammates — not what he says.

By hitting and pitching better than any person who has ever attempted to do both at the highest level, Ohtani has broken through. Messi breaking through to American popular culture will rely on the same thing. Simply being perhaps the best footballer ever, and choosing to be in Miami, will hit on people’s curiosity.

Look at Messi’s previous stints: a historic, memorable run at FC Barcelona that preceded the last couple years with Paris Saint Germain. Any interviews stand out? Even during this last World Cup run, Messi’s most notable media interaction came when a verbal spat with a Dutch opponent just so happened to come in the middle of a postgame interview. 

Messi’s star power is the draw. His mere presence is a story. He’s already an internationally revered megastar, so much so that ticket prices and social media followings for last-place Inter Miami have skyrocketed. There is no mystery to what Messi is, even to the U.S.-based crowd that does not avidly follow European soccer. He was raising the World Cup trophy just seven months ago, and clips of the ensuing celebrations on the streets of Buenos Aires spoke more of Messi’s impact than any deep-written, thoroughly reported profile of the star would. Even commercially, advertisements featuring Messi rarely involved him speaking. Simply being Lionel Messi is enough of a sales pitch.

Sí, Muchachos📍 pic.twitter.com/8E3f9hb9VU

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 15, 2023

Messi is far from the first non-native English speaker to break into the culture like a meteor, and won’t be subject to the same sort of daily media responsibilities that a sport like, say, baseball would.

A typical week for an MLS beat writer consists of a couple practice sessions with select availability for players and staff, with the expectation that the coach will also speak before and after games, where specific players are made available. Given the variety of nationalities in the league – MLS features players from 81 countries and six continents – interpreters and translators are common. Media access to players is far greater than it is in many other countries, but it’s also not as expansive as it is in some other U.S. sports leagues. 

Which is what makes baseball different from the environment Messi is entering. Clubhouses are open for an hour before games and after. Media are out on the field during batting practice. Most days can feel like one running conversation with a player if you have a good relationship with them. Some stars are accessible. Others are not. Then there’s Ohtani.

My first year on a full-time baseball beat, in 2018 covering the Angels, coincided with Ohtani’s arrival, back then a curiosity more than what might be the best baseball player on the planet right now. Despite sharing a clubhouse with another player who was being floated out as the best ever (Mike Trout), and another slugger who might be the best right-handed hitter ever (Albert Pujols), covering Ohtani was a different experience entirely.

For as scarce as Trout would make himself during the open availability, or as precise as Pujols was about having to set things up with him, everything surrounding Ohtani was regimented. The Angels beefed up their media relations staff to help oversee the massive number of Japanese media who would journey to Orange County to track all things Ohtani. Rather than cover the Angels as a whole, like I would, their sole responsibility was to follow one player – one rather reclusive player.

When Ohtani was in the clubhouse, there were no side conversations with him. His availability was mostly limited to essentially once a week, usually after his starts as a pitcher (following the unofficial requirement for all starting pitchers, despite the fact that he was also starting nearly every day as a designated hitter). When he did speak, it generally came in two waves. First, a scrum with English-speaking media, where he was accompanied by longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Second, a scrum with the Japanese media corps. Neither usually revealed all that much. When Ohtani injured his elbow in that 2018 season, which led to an ill-fated return and eventually career-altering Tommy John surgery to go with obvious questions about his long-term future as a two-way player, Ohtani went more than a month before speaking to reporters to discuss what happened — unusual for a player with as much media attention as he gets.

Even now, as a full-blown star, the elements of Ohtani we know are mostly drawn from observation and reporting around him, not through him. Teammates and opponents are largely interview subjects, seeking to get kernels of information about a star who, by his own preference more than any language barrier, often doesn’t give them himself. Several of the interesting tidbits and nuggets of information that have been gathered about Ohtani over the years — his obsessive nature, his love for video games, the fact that he picked up Spanish before he picked up English, the fact that he went up to accept his 2021 AL MVP award in English without Mizuhara — were largely gathered from the people around him rather than the player himself.

You learn about him by watching, not hearing. And with Messi and Ohtani both, there is plenty to witness.

For as much of an adjustment as it requires to cover him, Ohtani is a marvel. It’s hard to say how Ohtani has been covered has had any impact on how he’s been received, especially with historic performances launching him into the zeitgeist.

In several ways, it was like covering a star footballer in Europe. Ohtani’s arrival in the United States and his free agency this winter will probably be covered like it, too. What does Ohtani want? Where does he want to land? Does this club have enough funds to push this deal through?

Messi could very well enjoy a similar treatment in Miami, a city that already has a heavy bilingual press and population, and where Messi already has made something of a home.

No matter what, people will have a curiosity that can only be itched by watching. The love Messi has fostered has come from his play, not from his words.

Because when you’re that rare a star, you are the story.

—Fabian Ardaya

Ohtani’s U.S. popularity still growing

After five and a half years in Major League Baseball and almost exclusively speaking to the public through an interpreter, Ohtani’s brand is stronger than ever. In 2021, 81 players made the All-Star Game. Ohtani’s merchandise accounted for an astounding 28 percent of sales. He’s set to make an estimated $35 million in endorsement deals in 2023, according to Forbes, including deals with Fanatics, New Balance and Hugo Boss. According to Sportico, Ohtani is making eight times more than baseball’s second highest endorsement earner (Mike Trout). It’s likely that the Angels make millions more in revenue due to Japanese advertisements, not to mention broadcast rights and additional ticket sales.

He is unquestionably the face of the game, and the only thing holding him back is the fact that his team hasn’t been good enough to reach the playoffs so far in his MLB career. His enigmatic and mysterious nature can even be viewed as contributing to that popularity. Similar to what Messi experienced before announcing he would sign with Miami, for months now, the baseball world has been consumed with the question of where Ohtani will go in free agency this upcoming offseason. What’s driving that? It’s not knowing. His silence is filled with speculation from others, further driving his name into headlines.

That play on the field speaks in two different ways. One is through sheer dominance and amazement. Four-hundred-and-ninety-three-foot homers, as he hit in June, speak all languages. The other is through his personality. While it’s not often seen in interviews, Ohtani clearly has a jovial and joking personality with his teammates and opponents. He’s apologized to opposing hitters for fielding their grounders. A video also surfaced last month of him tapping Angels pitcher Reid Detmers’ shoulder while both stood in the dugout. Detmers flinched, looked back, concerned and confused. Ohtani, the culprit, stood there pretending as though he knew nothing.

いやどっから見ても犯人大谷さんやろwwwwwwww pic.twitter.com/95GO61hIFn

— S (@pinkwakusei) June 29, 2023

Moments like this give a glimpse into who Ohtani is. And fans latch onto those moments. There’s something about greatness that makes language irrelevant. Don’t forget that his English-speaking teammate, and all-time great Mike Trout was criticized in 2018 by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for not being more marketable. Manfred’s comments were misguided. Because not all superstars fit the mold we want from them, or think we need of them.

Two years ago before the All-Star game, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said blatantly racist comments. He said it’s a problem that the face of baseball needs an interpreter. On top of the cruel sentiment. It was simply incorrect. Ohtani’s two-way stardom has done nothing but grow the game. He’s proven that players can both pitch and hit at a high level on a Major League diamond, allowing younger generations to dream of something that was previously thought to be impossible.

Before the 2022 All-Star game, right as Ohtani was going to lead off the game as a hitter, he told FOX Sports in a brief on-field interview that he’d swing at the first pitch. “First pitch, first swing,” he said in English. Then he swung and knocked a single off Clayton Kershaw.

He understands when he needs to engage. He understands what to say. And he’s calculated in how and when he presents himself to the world at large. The language barrier really hasn’t been a barrier at all.

—Sam Blum

(Photos:  Liu Xin/VCG, Steph Chambers/Getty Images)