Shohei Ohtani and very good boy Decoy share first-pitch duties on bobblehead night
Baseball fans eager to get their hands on a bobblehead of Los Angeles slugger Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy lined up at Dodger Stadium more than seven hours before the game on Wednesday.
The statuette ‘Shohei & Decoy’ shows a smiling Ohtani holding his one-year-old Dutch Kooikerhondje. Ohtani himself became a star when he sat next to the Japanese sensation when he learned last year that he had won his second MVP award.
Videos have surfaced on social media showing a seemingly endless line of Dodgers fans in blue and white braving the heat in hopes of taking home the coveted bobblehead.
Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the third inning, Ohtani hit a deep one on his second bobblehead night and the Dodgers beat the Orioles 6-4.
Ohtani singled and scored in the third inning and scored again in the fifth, giving the Japanese superstar a personal best of 104 runs this season, bettering his record of 103, set in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Ohtani hit his 42nd home run against Corbin Burnes and stole his 41st and 42nd bases in his quest to become the first player in Major League history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
He and dog Decoy threw out the ceremonial first pitch to a sold-out crowd of 53,290. When Ohtani gave the signal at home plate, the dog carried the ball in his mouth from the mound to the plate, where he and his owner exchanged high fives.
According to MLB.com, fans began arriving around noon for the evening game and the long lines made it difficult even for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to get into the stadium.
“I’m just glad I made it,” he joked.
“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know if it was Shohei or Decoy or a combo, but there’s a huge demand for this damn bobblehead. It took me forever to get into Dodger Stadium.
“There was a long line. If you plan on coming, you better leave now.”
Ohtani, 30, has more than delivered for the Dodgers since being acquired in the offseason for a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract.
The two-way player won’t pitch this year as he recovers from midseason elbow surgery, but he has hit 41 home runs and stolen 40 bases as a designated hitter. Last week, he became the sixth member of Major League Baseball’s coveted 40-40 club.
He also has a .294 batting average for the Dodgers, who are atop the NL West, and is the favorite to win his third MVP award in a season that has Dodgers fans hungry for a World Series victory.