News that Shohei Ohtani had a torn UCL in his elbow rocked the baseball world early Thursday morning. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it is unclear if Ohtani will need surgery, but he won’t pitch the rest of the 2023 season. It’s a development that could cost Ohtani millions as he prepares to hit free agency this offseason.
To many, because of his ability to mash dingers and pitch like an ace, the Los Angeles Angels superstar is the greatest player in MLB history. On top of that, he seems like a great person, making his injury all the more heartbreaking. And for fans of the game, Ohtani is just a flat-out treat to watch night in and night out.
Even for other fellow stars like Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds.
After Ohtani recorded a hit with an off-balance swing Thursday, De La Cruz jokingly prodded him as if to check whether he was real. With Ohtani apparently already knowing about his injury, per Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register, the two superstars shared a laugh in a delightful moment courtesy of Bally Sports West that we can all appreciate:
Elly De La Cruz gotta check if Shohei is real 😂🦄@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/JLcIHEhdr3
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) August 24, 2023
Kudos to Ohtani for putting on a brave face and enjoying some levity with one of the game’s bright young faces. On what had to be one of the toughest nights of his career, this served as an excellent reminder about trying to have some fun regardless of a bad break.
This was how Twitter reacted
Everyone in America needs to be a little more like Shohei Ohtani https://t.co/FwoxupJ6QY
— Matt Mormann (@realmattmormann) August 24, 2023
Reason #269 I love Shohei… Also reason #14 I love ELDC…
Really wish MLB could find a way to market their stars better… I will say I’m seeing a bump in baseball jerseys in the elementary and intermediate schools… https://t.co/WVPnJx6oBV
— Fink (@dustfink) August 24, 2023
He’s just an incredible human being all the way around. https://t.co/xNRnKBcFaw
— Matthew Laurance (@realLauro5) August 24, 2023
The best player and an incredible human being. He has sacrificed everything for this game. Even with this injury and what it entails, Ohtani is still worth all the money.
— Josue De Jesus (@josuedjr) August 24, 2023
Just an amazing human that I’m willing a team will take the gamble on. If anyone on this planet can recover from two Tommy John’s and still do what he does it’ll be him. Even if he has to become an elite dh/Pen arm I bet he can make it worth a teams $600+M
— DMastermind (@DMasterMind7) August 24, 2023
His smile made me wanna cry.
— myoldgeneralet (@myoldgeneralet) August 24, 2023
Elly meets 🦄! https://t.co/0r7cKusZdL
— Mark Gubicza (@Markgubicza) August 24, 2023
I love this moment. Shoei points to where Elly hit his home run and does a little swing. https://t.co/JM7MkexpC7
— Let'sGoReds (@slapshot3498) August 24, 2023
Alright, this is pretty cool. https://t.co/Eo1wIkQdLK
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) August 24, 2023
