Shohei Ohtani, who is starting a new career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has revealed that he is taking his dog, Decopin, to spring training.
“While attending a fan festival at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani told reporters, ‘Decopin will accompany me to spring training,'” Japanese sports media outlet Full Count reported on Thursday.
When asked about the possibility of traveling to away games during the season, Ohtani replied, “I don’t think I can physically go to away games.”
Ohtani, who was unanimously named the American League MVP last year, drew attention from fans when he appeared holding the dog during the online announcement.
Decopin was presented with a special visa by the U.S. ambassador to Japan last month. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Ram Imanual announced the meeting with Ohtani on social media, posting a photo of them holding the special visa.
Meanwhile, Ohtani, who burst onto the scene in 2018 when he won the American League Rookie of the Year award in his first year in the big leagues, went on to become one of the biggest stars in the majors, winning the unanimous American League MVP award in 2021.
In 2022, he finished second in MVP voting behind Aaron Judge (Yankees), who set an American League home run record (62), but last year he won unanimous MVP honors again, becoming the first player in major league history to win unanimous MVP twice.
His major league career numbers are 701 games (2483 at-bats, 681 hits), 171 home runs, 437 RBI, 428 runs scored, 86 doubles, .922 OPS, and 86 games 바카라사이트 (481⅔ innings) as a pitcher with a 38-19 record and 3.01 ERA.
Ohtani, who became a free agent after last season, surprised everyone by signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
Ohtani, who underwent a second elbow surgery last September, will be a designated hitter this season. He said, “Winning the World Series is one of my goals in baseball. It’s the biggest goal. I can’t pitch this year, so I’ll try to contribute more at the plate,” he said.
“First of all, I want to get back to pitching properly, and then (next year) I’m going to try to do it full-time. I signed a 10-year contract, so I’m going to do it for 10 years. I hope to contribute on both sides of the plate in the World Series.”
