CHICAGO — On that famous corner of Clark and Addison, SportsWorld looked like OhtaniWorld on Friday.

As customers entered high-traffic merchandise emporium catercorner from the Wrigley Field marquee, Shohei Ohtani jerseys dotted the wall behind the counter. To the side was a separate rack of Shohei jerseys for fans to pick through. Even the kids’ section had options for the Dodgers star.

Meanwhile, the press box was full and the meal room was set up with tables like it was a playoff series, which Wrigley Field used to host not that long ago.

Ohtani-mania came to Wrigley Field this weekend, bringing in a little heat to a chilly confines. I’m not saying he’s a big deal but I call him the male Caitlin Clark.

It all came to a head in the top of the eighth inning.

Shohei Ohtani jerseys lined the wall at Wrigleyville’s SportsWorld store Friday. (Jon Greenberg / The Athletic)

Ohtani, who homered in the fifth inning (the fan threw back the ball, or maybe a ball, so no need for drama), came to the plate with a man on first and two outs. Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather had just struck out Mookie Betts looking.

As early April games go, this was a moment.

On a 3-2 count, Ohtani took a monster cut on an 85 mph slider and launched a fly ball to center field. A tank, as they call it.

But even Ohtani was no match for the famous Wrigley wind that tamed a moon shot into an easy out for Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger.

I’m sure the Cubs business was cursing the schedule makers when they saw that Ohtani was coming to town for the second series of the season rather than in the summer, but you can bet the pitchers were happy about it.

If Othani hits that in June, it’s probably landing in the bleachers. Instead, Cubs fans left singing and cheering, starting the weekend on a happy note.

The Dodgers threatened again in the ninth against closer Adbert Alzolay, but the defense saved a 9-7 win for the Cubs.

Game. pic.twitter.com/ZgI1AjAZJw

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2024

I hope you took the over. (Too soon?)

Friday’s announced attendance was 34,981 — far from a sellout. For comparison, the first Friday matinee last season, against the Rangers on April 7, drew 29,094, so there was a nice Ohtani bump, but maybe he’s not quite at Clark’s level as a road draw.

Of course, the Dodgers didn’t pony up big bucks to land Ohtani this offseason to help their rivals sell tickets, hot dogs and beers.

The signing was part of their quest to spend their way to another World Series title, and god bless them for doing it. You don’t hear Cubs owner Tom Ricketts praising the Dodger Way like he did the more frugal Arizona Diamondbacks in spring training. Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t shock anyone when he told writers last season that you could count out the White Sox in the Ohtani pursuit.

It’s good for baseball, as they say, to have Ohtani on the Dodgers. The sport needs stars on the biggest teams, after all. The sport needs rivalries too.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Cubs and Dodgers were rivals. Equals, even.

In 2016, the Cubs famously beat them in the NLCS to advance to the World Series. The next year, the Dodgers returned the favor.

Shohei in the Windy City! pic.twitter.com/FnkVAunDOQ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 5, 2024

Since then, the Cubs and Dodgers have gone their separate ways, though the teams are tied in recent World Series and the Cubs can say their win came after a real season.

Felicitously, a member of that 2016 Cubs team is now on the Dodgers, so I asked Jason Heyward if you can compare the hype around the 2016 Cubs to what he’s experiencing now with the Ohtani Dodgers.

“I think it’s comparable in the sense of when we had our Cubs convention that January. I remember we went out to dinner as a team and went out somewhere after and we’re all in suits and stuff, we’re hanging, it’s casual, we’re chilling,” he said. “And I remember waking up the next morning early before I went to, like, the next Cubs Con event seeing SportsCenter posted (a picture) with the caption ‘Your 2016 World Series champions.’ This is in January, we didn’t even do anything, we didn’t go anywhere, (there were) no boastful sayings, anything like that. So I think in those ways, it’s comparable.”

With Ohtani and Saturday’s starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto on board, the Dodgers have gone from plain ol’ popular baseball team to cultural phenomenon (and that’s before Ohtani’s gambling scandal turned up the heat).

Heyward, a recent convert to the world of European soccer fandom, sees some similarities between those super teams and how the Dodgers now have a global fan base complete with a sizable Japanese press corps. But he said they’re not affected by the attention. Not yet.

“I don’t think we see it as much as everyone else,” he said. “We’re on the inside. We’re the ones at the zoo, so to speak.”

Heyward noted that he’s been lucky in his career to be on a lot of competitive teams. He came up with the Braves, won it all with the Cubs and now he’s important enough that the Dodgers brought him back for another year. He praised the team’s deep-pocketed ownership and front office for being aggressive enough to put together a championship-caliber team every season.

“It’s nice to have that quote-unquote pressure and privilege,” Heyward said.

Pressure isn’t what it once was on the North Side, but these Cubs aren’t bad. This was their fifth win in a row, and after sweeping the Colorado Rockies, it was nice to see the Cubs beat a major-league team at home.

Craig Counsell’s club took a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a five-run second inning that knocked out starter Bobby Miller with a barrage of hits, sparked by Dansby Swanson’s one-out solo home run and RBI hits from Nick Madrigal and Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs added another run in the third to go up 6-2, thanks to Michael Busch’s first home run as a Cub. The Dodgers traded Busch and reliever Yency Almonte to Chicago in the offseason, so it was fitting that Busch came up big again in the ninth, making a diving snag on a James Outman liner to end the game with two runners on base.

Everyone came to see Ohtani, and they got a Michael Busch revenge game too. Who says you can’t get deals at Wrigley Field anymore?

With the sun shining on a cold day, this was an exciting, even memorable game, the kind that makes you sit up and pay attention in April. And wouldn’t it be nice to revisit this rivalry come October?

(Photo of Shohei Ohtani watching his flyout in the eighth inning: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)