It’s Sho-time! Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani gets the superstar treatment in L.A. with brand-new murals of the $700m signing being made all over the city
- LA is known for its street art and has murals of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
- Ohtani joined the Dodgers earlier this month on a 10-year, $700 million contract
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Shohei Ohtani is the latest Los Angeles sports star to have a mural painted in his honor, just weeks after joining the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million contract.
Jonas Never – a graffiti street artist – bought a few cans of spray paint to create the creation which is located on one of the sides of his shop, Prociety, at Main St and West 15th in downtown LA
He has previously painted other murals of LeBron James and Anthony Bourdain.
“I had to welcome @shoheiohtani to LA, the only way we can do that,” he shared as the caption to a photo of his most recently completed mural on Instagram on Saturday.
According to TMZ Sportsit took about a day and a half for Never to complete the chef d'oeuvre.
A mural of Shohei Ohtani in an LA Dodgers uniform has been spotted in downtown Los Angeles
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers earlier this month
Ohtani is no stranger to LA. after all, as he spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Angels, and a user pointed that out in Never's Instagram post of his mural dedicated to the Japanese two-way star.
“We were all so hype when he was with the Angels?” wrote the user.
Another Ohtani mural has also been spotted in Manhattan Beach, and many more are expected to appear throughout LA before the opening day of the 2024 season on March 28.
LA is known for its street art, with murals of Kobe Bryant appearing all over the city, especially since his death in January 2020.
Ohtani, 29, and Ronald Acuña Jr. won this year's Hank Aaron Awards, presented by MLB to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league.
A baseball fan wondered why there were suddenly so many murals of Ohtani in LA
Ohtani has another mural in Manhattan Beach, with many more to come before opening day
The MLB award is chosen through fan voting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners, a group that this year includes Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez and Eddie Murray were among , Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, John Smoltz and Robin Yount.
The pair also won the Most Valuable Awards last month in a vote by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Ohtani was the first two-time unanimous MVP.
Ohtani became a free agent after the season and left the Angels after leading the AL with 44 home runs and hitting .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season at the plate that ended September 3 due to an oblique injury.
The right-hander was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23. He had elbow surgery and will not. pitching next season.