SI

Shohei Ohtani's Dog Decoy Adorably Handles First Pitch Duties at Dodgers-Orioles

Tom Dierberger

Decoy high-fives his owner Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers after he carries out the first pitch before the game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Decoy high-fives his owner Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers after he carries out the first pitch before the game against the Baltimore Orioles. / Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
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Shohei Ohtani was the second-biggest star at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.

Instead, the Hollywood spotlight shined bright on his beloved dog Decoy, who was assigned the first pitch duties before the Los Angeles Dodgers' clash against the Baltimore Orioles.

With Ohtani squatting behind home plate, Decoy—wearing a No. 17 Ohtani jersey—fetched the baseball on the mound and brought it back to his All-Star Dog dad.

It was a special night for Ohtani's sidekick, as the Dodgers gave away a "Shohei and Decoy" bobblehead Wednesday night depicting the two-way superstar holding his dog. A limited number of those figurines were painted gold, which had hundreds of Dodgers fans lining up at the ballpark as early as 11 a.m. PT—more than eight hours before the scheduled first pitch at 7:10 p.m. PT.

Decoy had plenty to cheer about once the game began, as Ohtani clobbered his 42nd homer of the season to lead off the bottom of the first.

It doesn't get much better than that.

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Tom Dierberger

TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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