#1,007: Oh What a Night!
Dodger Shohei Ohtani and "Decoy"
As I ready myself to put fingers to keyboard and begin composing blog #1,007, I am sitting in my library. It is adorned with thousands of books ranging from the complete works of Shakespeare, Boccaccio and Thucydides, Dickens, Dostoevsky and Mark Twain. There are countless shelves containing biographies of classic movie stars (Chaplin, Keaton, Henry Fonda, the siblings Barrymore, and Humphrey Bogart); directors (D.W. Griffith, Sir David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder); and screenwriters (Ben Hecht, Herman Mankiewicz, Dalton Trumbo, and Dorothy Parker. There are also shelves filled with hundreds of history books, the Hebrew Bible, Babylonian Talmud, and Shulchan Aruch (the medieval Jewish code of law) as well as the complete works of P.G Wodehouse . . . one of my absolute favorite writers of all time. To my left, wedged in between Arnold Bergere’s sculpture of Moses cradling the Ten Commandments and a marvelous framed photo of the “It Girl” Clara Bow, there is a metallic sign that proclaims that there are precisely 2.694 miles between this library and Dodger Stadium (a gift from my “slightly older sister” Erica) and autographed baseballs signed by Sandy Koufax, Maury Wills, Duke Snyder and . . . Ted Williams. And oh yes, I am wearing a brand new Dodger jersey (#50 Mookie Betts - likewise a gift from my slightly older sister Erica, who is now the matriarch of the clan), and a beat-up Dodger cap from the mid-1960s.
As you may have guessed, this week’s blog has nothing to do with politics. I think we all deserve a break . . . at least for a couple of days.
Ever since 2005 - the year I began writing this blog - at least 1 out of every 52 essays has been devoted to MY L.A. Dodgers. (One of my most popular was from August, 2013 about longtime Dodger broadcaster Vince Scully, called “Shakespeare With a Mic”). Ever since 1958 - the year the Dodgers arrived in L.A. - the Stone family has, as we say in Tinseltown, “Bled Dodger Blue.” We went to lots of games; first at the Los Angeles War Memorial Coliseum, which had a capacity of over 95,000, and then, after 1962 at Chavez Ravine. I/we had the privilege of watching Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale pitch; of kvelling over the only Jewish brother battery mates in MLB history (Catcher Norm and Pitcher Larry . . . the Sherry brothers), of cheering on Maury Wills as he stole an amazing 104 bases in 1962, and the infield of Garvey, Cey, Russell and Lopes who played an amazing 8 seasons together . . . a major league record. We got to see such immortals as Stan “The Man” Musial, “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron, Willie “Say Hey!” Mays, Warren Spahn (the winningest left-handed pitcher of all time), experienced “Fernandomania,” “Moon Shots,” and a thousand-and-one other great plays and players.
While it is true that I never saw Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Mel Ott, Hank Greenberg, Ted Williams or Bob Feller play, I did, just the other night, get to a game here in South Florida in which we saw the young man who just may turn out to be the greatest player of all time: Dodger pitcher/outfielder/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. For quite a few years, whenever the Dodgers come south to play the Marlins, my friend “Pal Al” Blake treats me and my son-in-law Scott to a night of great seats, lots of cheers and a chance to see the Dodgers (generally) beat the pants off the hapless Marlins. We were especially revved up for the game this past Wednesday . . . a chance to see the Ohtani bat! (Like Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani is both a brilliant pitcher and an even better slugger; unlike the Babe, he can also steal bases with the best of ‘em.)
Most of the people attending the game were wearing Dodger shirts and caps, many blazoned with the number 17 and the name “Ohtani” on the back. There were about 17,500 people in attendance; great for the Marlins who average less than 10,000 a game. Most were rooting for the Dodgers. The first Dodger to come to the plate was . . . you guessed it . . . Shohei Ohtani. He got a standing-room cheer and then singled. Despite stealing second and then moving over to third on an error, the Dodgers failed to score. It was a pretty good game; Dodger Catcher Will Smith hit 2 homeruns, and the visitors won 8-4.
If only we had been there the next night . . .
The next night, Thursday September 19, 2024 was a night for the ages. How so? Well, to begin with, Shohei Ohtani went six-for-six, meaning that he had six hits (3 home runs, 2 doubles, and 1 single in six at-bats. In the entire history of Major League Baseball, only 43 players have have achieved this goal. Not only that: Ohtani also stole 2 bases and had 17 total bases. The final score was 20-4; moreover the victory guaranteed the Dodgers a spot in the post season . . . they have won the National League’s Western Division. What Shohei Ohtani has accomplished this season, not to mention his entire professional career going back to his days in Japan, is beyond breathtaking. Generally speaking, players who are great pitchers do not know the first thing about hitting. Next, players who are “sluggers” (capable of hitting many, many long homeruns) generally do not steal bases . . . they are physically too large to be that quick afoot. Up until the time of Ohtani, only 5 players had hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a season . . . and 3 of those (Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez) were found to have been using performance enhancing drugs (PET) when they accomplished the feat. Now, Shohei Ohtani has become the lone member of the "50-50 club.” Moreover, as of this afternoon, he has hit 53 home runs and stolen 55 bases to go along with a .301 average and 123 RBI.
Most baseball cognoscenti (I immodestly include myself in this group) consider his achievement in the September 19 game between the Dodgers and the Marlins to be the single greatest game by any hitter in the history of Major League Baseball. You hear that Babe?
Not surprisingly, Ohtani is the highest-paid professional athlete in the history of sports: $700 million over 10 years. And that’s despite Dodger management knowing he would be unable to pitch during the first year of the contract due to his recuperation from “Tommy John surgery.” (Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Surgery).
Beyond being a once-in-a-lifetime baseball player, and the highest-paid athlete of all time, he seems, by all signs, to be a genuinely nice, humble and hugely philanthropic human being with a great love of dogs. This latter issue has taken the Los Angeles crowd by storm. Everyone in L.A. knows that “Showtime” Ohtani has a beloved dog . . . a Dutch duck-hunting Nederlandse Kooikerhondje named “Decoy.” In fact, Decoy (pictured above) is so well-known that on the recent Ohtani Bobblehead night,” the pooch was part of giveaway doll. Dodger fans started lining up at 8:00 AM that day just to be assured of being one of the lucky 40,000 to get a statue of their own. Talk about popularity! The icing on the cake that night came when Ohtani came out of the dugout to throw out the ceremonial “first-pitch” - a tradition that goes all the way back to President William Howard Taft, who threw out the first pitch at a Washington Senators game on April 14, 1910. To see what Ohtani and Decoy did to make the first pitch one of the most memorable of all time, check out the video capture:
At a time when so many of our leaders, idols and “heroes” turn out to have lying lips, feet of clay, and the morals of an alley cat, it is both heartwarming and essential to have a universally admired super-human to root for. Though only 30 years of age, Shohei Ohtani has long wowed the hearts and minds of baseball fans wherever the game is played. After his record-setting night, his name and fame have now spread to people (whether baseball fans or not) in North America, South America, Europe and Asia . . . where they’ve already known all about their 6’4” 210-lb dog-loving native son for many years. I for one find it entirely refreshing that a young man born and raised in Oshu, Japan, is now both an American and a global icon. And though his English isn’t that good (he generally speaks through his personal interpreter), he knows how to communicate in the international language of mind-numbing accomplishment, nobility and civility.
Thanks for giving us someone to honestly applaud.
Take good care of Decoy!
Copyright2024 Kurt Franklin Stone