Famed actor Rob Lowe has revealed the amazing gesture Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani made when the two met in the team’s locker room earlier this year.
Ohtani is without a doubt the biggest star in baseball and receives an unprecedented amount of attention in the sport.
When Lowe got the chance to meet him, Ohtani was sitting alone in the locker room, wearing only shorts and his jersey.
When the host of “The Floor” asked for a photo, Ohtani told him to take a moment to get into full uniform before the shoot.
Later, while the game was still in progress, Ohtani asked a Dodgers representative if it would be okay for Lowe to post the photo of the two.
Shohei Ohtani posed with Rob Lowe for a photo posted to his Instagram in May
“I walked into the club. He was by himself. He was in his gym shorts and his uniform top, and I introduced myself, told him I was a fan,” Lowe detailed on “The Talk.”
“I asked him what he could put in the picture. He said absolutely (yes). So I thought he would just stand up and we would take the picture. He got all dressed up. He said, ‘Give me a minute.’ Stirrups, socks, trophy, pants, belt, hat. I thought it was so typical of his respect for the game and his attention to detail.”
“And then you think about what any other superstar would ever do. So I go to my seat and I’m sitting next to a Dodgers representative. And he says, ‘Oh, this is from Shohei. He texted me. And he said Rob would be upset if I posted our picture.’ I can’t imagine a sports superstar doing that.”
Ohtani is attempting to complete the first 50-50 season in Major League Baseball history, as no player has recorded 50 stolen bases and 50 home runs in a single season.
With 10 games left in Los Angeles’ regular season, Ohtani needs two home runs and a stolen base to accomplish that feat.
Before this season, only five players with the same stats were members of the 40-40 club: Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Jose Canseco.
Of the five, Acuna came closest to 50-50. He was the only one to steal more than 50 bases during his individual season, which he also did last year.