The wait is over. After nine games, Shohei Ohtani finally has his first home run with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By Ohtani standards, it has been a relatively slow start, who entered Wednesday hitting .242/.297/.333. He notched up his first homer in Dodger blue during the Dodgers’ 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
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Ohtani’s home run traveled a Statcast-projected 430 feet with an exit velocity of 105.6 mph, much to the delight of Dodgers fans.
The two-way phenom entered the 2024 season with a ton of expectations on his shoulders after signing the most lucrative contract in MLB history – a 10-year, $700 million deal, 97% of which is deferred.
Matters off the field stemming from the Ippei Mizuhara controversy haven’t helped him and the Dodgers either. But now, he can rest easy knowing that his first home run for the Dodgers is in the bag.
Ohtani said after the game that he is ‘relieved’ to have his first homer in Dodger blue. He also acknowledged that his swing hasn’t been great.
“Honestly, very relieved that I was able to hit my first home run. It’s been a while, and honestly, my swing hasn’t been great. So overall, very relieved,” Shohei Ohtani said after the game.
Lucky fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s first HR ball returns it
The lucky fan who caught Shohei Ohtani’s first Dodgers home run ball has returned it, per MLB insider Sam Blum. In return, the fan got another ball, two caps, a bat and a meeting with Ohtani.
Milestone balls are worth quite a lot on the open market, and precedence suggests that Ohtani got away with a bargain of a deal.
Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit ball cost the New York Yankees $150,000 after infamous baseball fan Zack Hample caught the ball but didn’t want to give it up. The Yankees ended up donating that amount to a charity of Hample’s choice.
