Baseball gloves donated by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani were presented Monday to elementary schools in a city badly damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on New Year's Day.
The two-time unanimous American League MVP announced late last year that he was donating baseball gloves to every elementary school in Japan, totaling roughly 60,000 gloves among some 20,000 schools.
Gloves were presented to all nine elementary schools in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, where some schools are temporarily sharing facilities due to damage caused by the powerful earthquake.
Children played catch with the gloves after a presentation ceremony at the city's Monzen East Elementary School, which is holding joint classes with pupils from nearby Monzen West Elementary School.
Sixth-grader Fuka Matsumoto was among the first to try one of the gloves. The 12-year-old started playing baseball in second grade, but hadn't been able to play since the earthquake.
"This was the first time I could play catch in a while and it made me feel better. My whole family will continue to cheer for Shohei Ohtani," she said.
Fifth-grader Shuri Hayashi, 11, evacuated to a relative's house in the city of Kanazawa after the earthquake and only returned on Feb. 25.
"I want to play catch with friends again during break time," she said.
Another presentation ceremony was held at Wajima Prefectural High School, where pupils from six schools damaged by the earthquake are taking classes, the city's board of education said.
