PACIFIC PALISADES — There are shocking sights around every corner in the devastated burn areas of Pacific Palisades.
But those trying to clean up or just move on with their lives in the area of Fire Station 69 on West Sunset Blvd. were treated to another one Thursday afternoon – three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani acting as the “tillerman,” driving (with assistance) the back of a tiller truck from the station.
Ohtani – with a big smile on his face – took the spin around the neighborhood as part of a goodwill visit by himself and Dodgers teammates Emmet Sheehan and Ben Casparius. The trio – plus the World Series trophy the Dodgers won last fall – visited with firefighters, posing for photos and signing autographs.
“It means everything to these guys,” L.A. Fire Department Captain and Public Information Officer Adam Van Gerpen said of the visit. “This station specifically – there are a lot of Dodger fans here. So having them come here is really powerful.”
The Dodgers did not come empty-handed. They also presented the station with a $10,000 donation specifically to Fire Station 69 and $350,000 from the Dodgers Foundation to the LAFD Foundation, which helps buy equipment and fund programs to help firefighters in their work.
Ohtani has already pledged $500,000 to help with relief efforts in the affected areas. Dodgers owner Mark Walter and the Dodgers Foundation have pledged up to $100 million for the “LA Rises” recovery program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week.
“I didn’t really know what to expect on the way here,” said Sheehan, who lived “10 minutes from here” during the 2024 season (while recovering from Tommy John surgery). “But it really started to hit me once we got into the Palisades out of Brentwood. Just seeing the devastation was insane. I’ve never seen anything like this and those guys (firefighters) were saying they’ve never seen anything like this either.
“I don’t even know what to say. Just kind of speechless.”
The Dodgers’ trio were not the first MLB players to visit the station, according to Van Gerpen. Former Dodger Justin Turner and his wife, Kourtney, were working at a food line nearby earlier this week and stopped in to visit the firefighters.
Ohtani’s visit was particularly meaningful for two captains at Fire Station 69 who are of Japanese descent – Tommy Kitahata and Eric Nakamaru.
In a private gathering with the firefighters during Thursday’s visit, Ohtani spoke in English, thanking them for their efforts and telling them how much he appreciated what they were doing. Accepting his National League MVP award by video earlier this week, Ohtani said then that he “wanted to dedicate this award to the entire city of Los Angeles, to all the first responders, firefighters and to all of the fire departments for their heroic efforts to combat these fires in Los Angeles.”
“These guys do so much for the community out here,” Sheehan said. “Just to spend a couple hours out here with the guys is nothing for us. Just to try to repay them a little bit for what they’ve been doing even though that would be impossible. But hopefully we can brighten their day and give them a little bit of fun in what has obviously been a really, really hard time.”