DENVER –– Shohei Ohtani doesn’t usually stop for autographs when he trots off the field following his on-field pregame workout each day.
But on Saturday, the Dodgers’ two-way star made a sentimental exception.
Ahead of the second game of this weekend’s series at Coors Field between the Dodgers and Rockies, a 100-year-old survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, Momoyo Kelly, was down on the field during warmups in a wheelchair.
She posed for photos with several players of both teams and chatted for a few minutes with Dodgers manager (and Okinawa, Japan, native) Dave Roberts.
Then, the highlight of the day came as Ohtani returned to the dugout, stopping along the way to sign a ball for her as she stood up and smiled.
The exchange was short, with Ohtani quickly greeting her, scribing his signature onto a ball, then disappearing back into the Dodgers’ clubhouse.
Nonetheless, the moment was “like a dream,” Kelly said later, according to Chunichi Sports.
“He’s the pride of Japan,” she added. “I watch the Dodgers’ games every day.”
Kelly was 19 at the time of Nagasaki bombing, then eventually moved to the United States after meeting her husband on an American military base in Japan.
She was at Saturday’s game with her daughter and grandchild.
Now, she has a memory that she and her family will never forget.
Ohtani had just finished a pregame throwing session Saturday, in preparation for his next pitching start –– which will likely come during next week’s series in San Francisco against the Giants.
Ohtani entered play Saturday batting .265 with five home runs and 10 RBIs this season; as well as with a 49-game on-base streak dating back to last season.
As a pitcher, he has allowed one earned run over his first three starts with 18 strikeouts.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
