Shohei Ohtani, Decoy gift perfect reward to disappointed Dodgers bobblehead seekers

If you saw the lines that wrapped around Dodger Stadium on Shohei Ohtani’s first bobblehead night and thought they were too big, then the crowds at his second night were appalling. Lines formed seven hours before the first pitch on Wednesday, thousands clamoring for not just a bobblehead of Ohtani, but his dog Dekopin (or Decoy). 40,000 of them were being given out to a sold-out crowd of over 52,000, with a few special edition gold ones thrown in there for some lucky fans.

Clearly, with a deficit of over 12,000 bobbleheads and some fans taking far more than their fill to resell on eBay to the tune of up to $7,000, many who attended that day had to leave empty-handed.

However, the ones who missed out were still in for a treat. On Ohtani’s first bobblehead night, he and his wife Mamiko ceded first pitch duties to a young fan named Albert, a patient at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. On the second, he did the only logical thing: had Decoy throw out the first pitch.

What followed was perhaps the cutest thing that’s ever happened at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani sent Decoy to the mound as he set up behind the plate. Decoy grabbed the ball in his mouth and charged to the plate as the crowd roared.

https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1828979078960984501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s dog threw out the first pitch on bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, and it was glorious

And then, because Shohei Ohtani is Shohei Ohtani, who seems to have a penchant for doing the most poetic and well-timed things possible, we barely had to wait any time at all to watch him hit his 42nd homer of the season. Bottom of the first, Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes on the mound, a slider that missed its spot. Ohtani sent it 391 feet over the center field wall.

It helped spur the Dodgers to a win, with Teoscar Hernández also getting in on the home run fun with a three-run blast in the bottom of the third. Walker Buehler made it through what might be one of his best outings of the season. He pitched 4 2/3 innings and only gave up two earned runs (four total scored) and struck out four batters.

The Dodgers are still holding on to the best record in baseball and are just two wins shy of .600. The vibes at Dodger Stadium were excellent on Wednesday night, and hopefully it’ll care over to get LA a series win on Thursday.

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