The Los Angeles Dodgers formally introduced Shohei Ohtani during a press conference at Dodger Stadium on Thursday afternoon, and the two-way star touched on a number of topics.
It was Ohtani’s first public comments and appearances since signing with the Dodgers and drew worldwide attention, specifically in Japan, where it began at 8 a.m. with a 3 p.m. PT start.
The press conference was hosted by Dodgers play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis and featured comments from president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and a statement from Ohtani before he began taking questions.
As part of the questions asked, Ohtani revealed the name of his dog after he initially declined to do so during a televised appearance on MLB Network while accepting his 2023 American League MVP Award.
“His name is Dekopin,” Ohtani said through his translator Ippei Mizuhara. “That’s a Japanese name. I figured it would be hard for American people to announce it, so he has an American name, Decoy. So you can call him Decoy or Dekopin.”
There was speculation among fans that the name of Ohtani’s dog was related to the team he would sign with this offseason. However, it turns out the name has nothing to do with baseball: in Japanese, “Dekopin” means to flick one’s forehead.
When Ohtani announced his intention to sign with the Dodgers, Walker Buehler joked that the 29-year-old’s dog was named Dodger after all. The right-hander added in a separate post on X, formerly Twitter, that he would like to think Ohtani’s dog was named Walker.
Shohei Ohtani prioritized ‘winning’ in free agency decision
As Ohtani sorted through his options in free agency, it was believed he placed an emphasis on winning a World Series. He confirmed that playing for a contender was important in his decision-making.
“I do prioritize winning,” Ohtani said through Mizuhara. “That was on the top of my list and that will probably never change. That’s one of the reasons why I chose this team.”
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