Massive line forms outside Dodger Stadium for Shohei Ohtani bobblehead giveaway
Even Shohei Ohtani's bobblehead giveaways have become must-see events.
Earlier this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced a giveaway of a special bobblehead featuring not only Ohtani, but his dog Decoy, who became a viral sensation during the two-way superstar's free agency that resulted in Ohtani signing a landmark 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers.
The giveaway was set for Wednesday's game, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT. This is what the scene looked like outside the Dodger Stadium gates around 11 a.m. Wednesday as fans, many of them Japanese, waited patiently under a hot sun in a line that stretched well away from the main gate before it opened:
And the line outside the stadium only continued to grow as Wednesday stretched on, with long lines of cars backed up on roads around the stadium five hours before the Dodgers hosted the Baltimore Orioles.
Some drivers took to the wrong side of the road to negotiate a blocked intersection near one of the stadium gates where no traffic control officers were posted.
"I’m just happy that I made it," manager Dave Roberts said before the game. "It took me forever to get inside Dodger Stadium. I actually picked up one of the Dodger workers. She was laboring up the hill so I picked her up and gave her a little lift."
Only the first 40,000 fans received the bobblehead
In fairness, the bobblehead has been billed as a special collecter's item. Not only is the box also a souveneir in his own right, displaying Ohtani's career stats and exclusive photos of Decoy, but there are special-edition gold versions of the bobblehead interspersed among the giveaway inventory.
However, the first gold bobblehead was set aside for Ohtani himself — who brought Decoy to Wednesday's game:
Ohtani even gave early arrivals an additional special treat — throwing in the bullpen as he continues his rehab as a pitcher just over a year removed from major right elbow surgery.
Of course, Ohtani has already lived up to the hype — and then some — as a designated hitter. Ohtani leads the National League in OPS (.993), home runs (41) and stolen bases (40). The latter two marks have made him the sixth player in MLB history and first Dodger to join the "40-40" club of home runs and stolen bases in a season. He's the fastest player to ever reach the threshold and could become the first to go "50-50" in the categories. Ohtani ranks among the top five in Major League Baseball in virtually every major offensive statistic.
Even though he is exclusively a designated hitter this season, Ohtani is the overwhelming favorite (-2300) to win National League MVP, which would be his third career MVP award and make him only the second player in MLB history to win MVP in both the American and National Leagues.
The Dodgers have scheduled one more Ohtani giveaway to mark the two-way superstar's first season in Los Angeles after six years in Anaheim with the Angels. The September promotion will be a shirt. The team gave away hats in July.
Roberts said he is still surprised by the mania that surrounds Ohtani.
"When you’re in it day to day, he’s a baseball player that just wants to play," the manager said, "but when you see him impact and move the needle like he does and has, I’ve just never seen anything like this. It is incredible."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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