A bobblehead of Shohei Ohtani and his furry friend Decoy drew long lines outside of Dodger Stadium —hours ahead of Wednesday’s game between the Dodgers and Orioles.
Video and pictures posted to social media showed fans lining up as early as noon PT to get into a game that didn’t begin until 7:10 p.m.
The bobblehead — that featured a gold Ohtani holding Decoy in his arms — was being given out to the first 40,000 fans who entered the stadium.
Naturally, Ohtani was the first person to receive a bobblehead as he arrived to the ballpark before the game.
The Dodgers captured the moment in a video posted to social media.
Ohtani also had Decoy with him as he arrived at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani, wearing a white T-shirt, blue shorts and a backward hat, and Decoy posed for a picture with the bobblehead.
First pitch from Dodger Stadium is in 3 1/2 hours, and this is just a sampling of the people lining up to walk through the gates and obtain a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead. Every gate has thousands of people waiting outside of it. pic.twitter.com/freVsOoMPj
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) August 28, 2024
Outside, long lines of fans anxiously waited in anticipation of grabbing one of the coveted giveaways, with ESPN reporting fans were making big lines over three hours before game time.
An aerial video from Fox LA showed long lines of fans on Stadium Wa, and a video from NBC Los Angeles showed the massive traffic delay trying to get off the highway at 2:50 local time.
And, right before the game, the dog did the honors of the ceremonial first pitch, running a ball right to Ohtani.
Ohtani is one of baseball’s biggest names, not just in Los Angeles but across the globe.
Decoy became a topic of conversation during the offseason after Ohatni was coy for a while about what the dog’s name was.
He eventually revealed it during his introductory press conference in Los Angeles.
“I figured it would be hard for American people to pronounce it,” Ohtani told reporters back in December about Decoy’s name.
