Even as Bad Bunny was bankrolling his home country’s World Baseball Classic hopes, Shohei Ohtani’s on-field dominance proved too powerful to ignore.

Shohei Ohtani took the diamond today at Tokyo Dome against Chinese Taipei, turning in top names in Hollywood and the singing stars, like Bad Bunny.

“Timothee Chalamet and Bad Bunny are in Japan taking in the World Baseball Classic,” reported Talkin’ Baseball.

Many in attendance sensed something big was coming, and that feeling was heightened by the presence of Bad Bunny and Timothée Chalamet in the stands as Ohtani took his cuts in Japan’s opener. While Chalamet’s presence excited the dome, Bad Bunny raised a few eyebrows.

The Puerto Rican rapper and singer attended Japan’s game just 10 hours before his home team was about to face Colombia at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. And it would take more than 20 hours to travel from Tokyo. But Bad Bunny probably decided to ditch Puerto Rico’s first faceoff to enjoy Shotime!

Japan opened its 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C campaign with a dominating 13‑0 win, scoring ten runs in the second inning alone.

Japan set a WBC single‑inning record with 10 runs before adding three more in the third. The umpire called the game after seven innings under the mercy rule. This happened because Japan led by 10 runs or more after the 7th inning, highlighting just how one‑sided the matchup became.

Shohei Ohtani was unquestionably the star of the night, going 3‑for‑5 with a grand slam and five RBIs in the rout and falling just a triple short of the cycle.

Ohtani’s grand slam in the second put Japan up 4‑0 and helped ignite the offensive outburst. His performance gave fans an emotional opening to the tournament that felt like a statement from the defending champions.

Japan’s early blowout also underscored its title defense ambitions, as the reigning champion looked comfortable against a Taiwanese team that mustered just one hit all game.

The mercy‑rule finish meant Japan avoided the later innings usually needed to grind out a win, conserving energy for their next game against South Korea. It left fans in Tokyo buzzing about how deep this Samurai Japan lineup really is.

Meanwhile, Bad Bunny’s allegiance to Team Puerto Rico took a different form off the field, as he and Adidas provided the squad with exclusive cleats. But Shohei Ohtani is such a player that it doesn’t matter which team you support; he will make sure that you look at him and, at some point, root for him.

Bad Bunny shows which team he supports in the WBC

Bad Bunny has shown strong support for Team Puerto Rico at the 2026 World Baseball Classic by gifting the roster exclusive adidas BadBo 1.0 cleats designed in Puerto Rico’s colors for the event.

The cleats were proudly shown by players like Kiké Hernández, Edwin Díaz, and José De León on social media, reinforcing the team’s identity and unity.

Hernández himself shared the custom spikes, making sure fans saw the gesture from their island’s global star. Bad Bunny’s gift underscored his loyalty to Puerto Rican baseball beyond just words.

Before the Classic began, Bad Bunny also tried to help Puerto Rico more directly by offering to pay the insurance premiums for elite players Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa so they could compete.

Both players were denied coverage by the official insurance provider, meaning they could not join the team despite the offer.

Lindor’s own previous elbow procedures and Correa’s contract situation made approval even tougher. Although the effort did not change the outcome, it showed how far the artist was willing to go for his national squad.

Through these actions, Bad Bunny made sure no one would doubt where his support lies with Puerto Rico’s WBC team. Even if the insurance attempt did not succeed and the rapper was seen enjoying Ohtani ‘cooking’ the Chinese Taipei team, his gesture made the connection between the artist and country unmistakable.