Shohei Ohtani watched Japan's final Pool C action from the safety of the bench on Tuesday but that didn't stop him from once again being the center of the attention.
With Japan entering its fourth game at 3-0 and a spot in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals already secured, the defending champions opted to rest their superstar in advance of knockout play.
Ohtani was not in the lineup for a 9-0 win over the Czechia but did find a way to make quite an impression.
On one young fan, at least.
Here's Ohtani being a stand-up guy and making sure a souvenir baseball found its way into his intended target.
Shohei Ohtani made sure this young fan got the baseball!
— MLB (@MLB) March 10, 2026
And he couldn’t hold back his excitement 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Y7hfAlCoU7
It's a little thing but a gesture that will surely be appreciated as the youngster now has a great story to tell, complete with supporting video evidence.
Ohtani's breather will likely be the last of the tournament and opposing teams will hate to see his name penciled in at the top of Japan's lineup. All he did in three games in front of his home fans is go 5-for-8 with two walks, two home runs and six RBIs. That brought his career World Baseball Classic batting average to .517, his OBP to .659 and his overall OPS to a shocking 1.659.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shohei Ohtani Closed His Tokyo WBC Showcase With One Last Great Moment.
