As Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani celebrated his 45th home run of the season on the baseball field on Sunday, he made a quick pit-stop: jogging right up to a spectator who had been heckling him all afternoon.
On his way back to the Dodgers’ dugout during the ninth inning of the game against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani held out his hand to a Padres fan, high-fiving his heckler and patting him on the back – a gesture met with much amusement.
The Dodgers won 8-2 over their longtime rival after the match at San Diego’s Petco Park.
“It was very out of character from Shohei,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, adding that the heckler was “wearing [Ohtani] out the whole game”.
“So it was good to see Shohei initiate a high-five from him. That was great. That was fun. It was good to see Shohei show his personality.”
The heckler, seated next to the Dodgers’ dugout, was “very annoying, as he’s in my right ear the entire game,” Roberts said.
Ohtani, a rare MLB player because he is elite at both pitching and hitting, is known as a “unicorn” and is considered to be one of the sport’s best players.
He joined the Dodgers in 2023 with a record $700m (£520m) deal. In Japan, he is celebrated as the country’s biggest baseball export.
The Dodgers and Padres share what some call the “best rivalry in baseball”, with fans emotions running high at matches.
Last October, a play-off match between the two teams at Dodger Stadium was stopped for nearly 10 minutes when Dodgers fans threw baseballs and beer at a Padres player. Days later, Petco Park officials warned spectators against throwing things onto the field or making abusive comments.
In June, players and managers from both teams cleared the benches and went onto the field, shouting and shoving one another after Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was plunked in the right wrist.
This past weekend, the Dodgers were subjected to plenty of jeering from the stands, which amplified as they lost the first two games. But the booing turned silent, and cheers erupted after Ohtani hit the homer – his first against the Padres this season.
With 31 games left in the season for both teams, the rivals are now tied up at 74-57.
“We’re playing outstanding baseball. So, I don’t tend to get too caught in today,” Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Sunday. “We couldn’t be more thrilled. We’re tied for our division lead and expect to go win it.”
Source link
