“Decoy Saves Opening Day”
The author: Shohei Ohtani and Michael Blank
The illustrator: Fanny Liem
The details: HarperCollins, 32 pages, $21.99, released Feb. 3, ’26
The links: The publisher and Bookshop.org
“Shohei Ohtani: A Little Golden Book Biography”
The author: Nicole de las Heras
The illustrator: Toshiki Nakamura
The details: Little Golden Book Biographies/Penguin/Random House, 24 pages, $5.99; released March 3, ’26
The links: The publisher and at Bookstore.org
A review in 90 feet or less:
An AI overview collection of words and symbols generated from a search engine ask specifically about “Shohei Ohtani insane endorsement income” quickly will engineer this kind of answer-nugget:
“Shohei Ohtani is projected to earn an estimated $125 million in endorsement income for 2026, with nearly 20 global brand partners, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world from endorsements alone, according to Sportico data via Boardroom. This follows an estimated $100 million in marketing revenue earned during 2025, on top of a $2 million salary with the Dodgers — a threshold only previously reached by legends like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Stephen Curry”
We believe this to be true, because the AI primary source for that information seems to spitting out an Instragram post made by MLB on Fox and Fox Sports. Those numbers had been regurgitated many times over by other media platforms, including the Los Angeles Times, when, in the headline “Why $100 million in endorsements says Shohei Ohtani is the global face of sport,” the writer went on to deduce: “In Ohtani, whose face appears on everything from airplanes to skin care products, baseball at long last has its Michael Jordan: the superstar that has transcended sports and ascended to the status of global pop culture icon.”
He can hit. He can pitch.
He can write a book. Not one of those “as told to” mass-market, ghost-written, give-us-the-gossip type of sordid tale.
No new dirt here on Ippei here. It’s about a different dog.
Ohtani’s handlers must be painfully aware there is no money to be made in the book publishing business.
Just ask writers such as Bill Plunkett, who did the 2025 “L.A. Story: Shohei Ohtani, The Los Angeles Dodges and a Season for the Ages” or Jeff Fletcher, who fashioned an update of his 2022 “Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played.” All their deadline work dancing around their regular job of covering the Dodgers and Angels didn’t generate royalties that will allow them to lead a more regal suburban existence.
Ohtani’s co-author, Michael Blank, could even clue him in. Blanks is a venture capitalist who has been with Creative Artists Agency for 15 years.
The fact that Ohtani helped manufacture a baby daughter who turns one this April 19, the idea he fancied that he could create a children’s book that he could someday read to her, and then get a publishing house on board to make it happen, goes to his branding superpower. Even more altruistic, proceeds from sales support non-profit animal rescue organizations that help animals find homes, groups that are part of the newly launched Shohei Ohtani Family Foundation.
Ohtani’s Dutch Kooikerhondje with the Japanese name of Dekopin — translated loosely in English to Decoy — already has some fame by become a two-for-one bobblehead during a 2024 Dodger Stadium giveaway where he came on the field and helped deliver the first pitch.
That seems to be the jumping off point to create a tail-wagging tale of Decoy becoming a literary Lassie-like star.
No Dodgers logos are harmed in the making of this book — it’s very generic with uniform and cap depictions. The only hint comes as Decoy, looking for his “lucky baseball,” is in a panic at the ballpark and he “dodged stadium security” to run back home and continue his search.
Decoy also makes a cameo appearance in Ohtani’s life story as told in a “Little Golden Book” rendition, far more a status symbol/validation to be included in a classic children’s book series that has the distinct golden spine on its cardboard cover and allows the kid to scrawl his name inside. These books over the years can be almost as valuable as baseball cards if properly preserved, because invariably they’ll get beat up with use and end up donated to a future library book drive.
This one explains a few things adults could learn when the read it to their kids — Ohtani’s dad taught him to be a switch hitter as a kid (of course, he did), he got his swing down from playing badminton with his mother and his high school coaches thought he was good enough to be an Olympic-caliber swimmer. Here, both Angels and Dodgers logos and caps are obsequious in telling the true story — including giving out contract figures.
“In 2023, after six seasons with the Angels, Shohei signed a $700 million, ten-year deal to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the time, it was the biggest sports contract ever!”
(Kids, learn about deferment money when you get to college econ).
“He still loves the game as much as he did when he was a little yakyu shonen,” the story ends. “He always does his very best to help his team win and bring joy to fans around the world. What records will Shohei break next?”
Months on the New York Times’ kids bookseller list?
How it goes in the scorebook:
Philanthropy 101 is far more satisfying and life-enhancing than a refillable $75 plastic cup you schlepped home from the stadium.
Please don’t use these books as coasters.
“Decoy Saves Opening Day” is already Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller in children’s baseball books. Good for the foundation.
Both books — as well as the one generated by Scholastic books “All Access” edition in late 2025 — might be just the kind of thing that would brighten up a Sunday-morning Easter basket.
Still, if only Ohtani managed to both write and illustrate it, that would be more on brand.
Kirkus Reviews:
“Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters. A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.”
He may not steal any bases?
Someone send this reviewer the Cliff Notes.
Tom Hoffarth's The Drill: More Farther Off the Wall 