Shohei Ohtani turned out another Hollywood script on Wednesday night, further solidifying himself as the gameâs most compelling, must-see player. On a night dedicated to his bobblehead giveaway, Ohtani made sure the roughly 50,000 fans at Dodger Stadium took home a win and a memory to last a lifetime.
When Ohtani stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with the score tied against the Atlanta Braves, there was an odd sense of inevitability. On a 2-1 fastball, Ohtani didnât miss. He crushed the pitch from Raisel Iglesias deep into the right-field pavilion, sending the home crowd into a frenzy, and trotted the bases with his cool, confident demeanor.
Ohtani’s walk-off homer â his first in a Dodgers uniform âwasnât just another highlight in whatâs becoming a career full of them. It was the kind of moment that stitches a player into the fabric of a franchise. The Dodgers are no strangers to legends or late-inning drama, but this was exactly what fans had hoped for when the team emptied the vault to bring him to L.A.
As Ohtani crossed home plate and was mobbed by teammates, fans stayed on their feet well after the fireworks faded, soaking in the moment. The bobblehead might have been the giveaway, but the real souvenir was another signature Ohtani moment.
“He’s the best player in baseball,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley told MLB.com. “If you make a mistake, you’re more than likely going to pay for it. There’s a reason why he’s the best.”
“I said this last year about Sho,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said, “he keeps getting into these situations and moments where you’re expecting the unthinkable out of him, and he rarely disappoints. ⦠I wasn’t shocked at all. But it’s still shocking what he does.”
The Dodgers now stand alone as the first defending World Series champions in MLB history to begin the season 8-0. After an off day Thursday, they open a three-game weekend series in Philadelphia against the Phillies Friday afternoon.
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