Shohei Ohtani crushed his first home run as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The smashing 430-foot hit came at Dodger Stadium to help secure a series sweep against the San Francisco Giants. While the game had a sold-out crowd of approximately 53,000 people, fortunately for Ohtani, the ball was caught by a fan of the Dodgers and not of the franchise rival.
This is a memory that the fan will have for a lifetime, which is exciting. She looked incredibly pleased with the good luck that came with catching it, too:
The luckiest fan in the world comes up with the ball after Shohei Ohtani’s first home run at Dodger Stadium 👏
🎥: @SportsNetLA pic.twitter.com/wBBdYCiWlP
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) April 4, 2024
After the game, however, Ohtani made an attempt to try to get the ball back so that he could have this piece of his own history.
According to Ohtani, he was able to successfully retrieve this memento for a fairly reasonable deal. He met the fan (which is awesome!) and also gave her a ball, two hats, and a bat.
UPDATE: The latest reporting suggests Ohtani did not actually meet the fan. Charles Curtis has more on the confusion.
Shohei Ohtani said he exchanged the home run ball for a ball, two caps and a bat. He also met the fan.
That ball is worth quite a lot. Good deal?
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) April 4, 2024
The two-time American League MVP said that he was “relieved” to get the home run out of the way.
He also added that he was “grateful” to have the ball back because he had “a lot of feelings” toward it.
Meanwhile, the fan walked away with quite a bit more than a ball.
