It has been a big week for Shohei Ohtani, which began on Thursday with his first bobblehead night as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and continued with a day of recognition by the City of Los Angeles.
Ohtani has not been part of the Dodgers and the larger Los Angeles community for very long, signing his contract on Dec. 11, 2023, but it is safe to say that he has had an enormous impact on both the team and the city.
Because of that, Los Angeles City Council named May 17 Shohei Ohtani Day throughout the city, which extends for the life of his contract, to honor his athletic achievements and historic impact as an Angeleno of Japanese descent.
Later in the day, Ohtani gave his two cents as to how people should celebrate Shohei Ohtani Day in Los Angeles, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Before the game Friday night, Ohtani was asked jokingly if there were any special traditions he would like to establish for Ohtani Day. He played along and laughed off suggestions of gift exchanges or special decorations.
Asked what an appropriate food might be for future Ohtani Day meals, he said, “Sushi” – then as he walked away, “Or pizza.”
Taking a look at what happened on his bobblehead night on Thursday, it is perhaps the best piece of evidence when looking at the impression Ohtani has made on this city in such a short time.
A highly coveted pregame giveaway of Ohtani’s first Dodgers bobblehead, and even more sought after bobblehead of him in the team’s road greys, led to lengthy lines that were visible hours before the game was set to begin. After all was said and done, the crowd of 53,527 that was drawn in by Ohtani’s bobblehead night was the largest crowd at a game at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019.
The other two most recent Dodgers to receive a day of honor from the city have been Fernando Valenzuela and Justin Turner, with days being dedicated to them on Aug. 11 and Jan. 22 respectively.
It is quite remarkable to see Ohtani be given his own day so early into his time in L.A. Both Valenzuela and Turner received this gesture late into their career as Dodgers, much later in Valenzuela’s case.
Ohtani’s case is also unique in that the tradition will only last for the duration of his Dodgers career.
Shohei Ohtani’s message to L.A.
While in attendance at Los Angeles City Hall on Friday for the official ceremony, Ohtani took a moment to thank the L.A. City Council, the Dodgers organization and all of the fans for the honor. Members of the Dodgers front office and Dodger manager Dave Roberts were in attendance for the event as well.
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