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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani isn’t the only baseball pitcher in his family.
Thousands of fans watched Ohtani’s dog, Dekopin, throw a perfect first pitch to his owner during Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
In a video shared by the Los Angeles Dodgers on X (formerly Twitter), Ohtani, 30, carries his pet onto the field to help Decoy throw the first pitch.
Footage of the bait’s first pitch shows the dog catching the ball more often than pitching it. In the clip of the puppy pitching, Decoy catches the ball in his mouth and passes it from the pitcher’s mound to Ohtani, who is crouching in the batter’s box.
After the successful pitch, Decoy was feted by his proud owner and received a round of applause from the crowd, many of whom came to the game to receive the night’s promotional item: a bobblehead featuring Otani and Decoy.
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Los Angeles Dodgers/X
Four hours before the first game, about 20,000 people were waiting outside, excited to receive their giveaway bobbleheads, according to the MLB website.
Ohtani told the media through translator Will Ireton that he was surprised by the turnout and initially thought the crowd was for “other special events going on.”
Reuters reports that the “Shohei & Decoy” figure features a smiling Ohtani holding his Dutch Kooikerhondje.
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Bait’s lovely first pitch seemed to bring good luck to Ohtani. The pet owner hit his first home run and stole two bases during the Dodgers’ home game against the Baltimore Orioles after DeCoy pitched.
In the end, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the game 6-4.
“Shohei, he had his head-shaking night, hitting a home run and stealing a couple bases,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB. “I’m telling you, any big moment, he seems to be able to Come forward.”
