Los Angeles, CA — In a moment straight out of a movie, Shohei Ohtani, fresh off a historic career-best performance on the mound and at the plate, made headlines again — this time, for something that happened after the final pitch.
According to stadium staff at Dodger Stadium, just hours after Ohtani racked up 10 strikeouts and hit two home runs in a game against the Giants, he was spotted near the stadium’s back lot kneeling beside a small, trembling dog. The animal, a scruffy tan mix estimated to be around 1 year old, had reportedly been abandoned near the players’ entrance.
Witnesses say Ohtani stayed with the dog for nearly 30 minutes, feeding it bits of leftover chicken from his postgame meal and making sure it wasn’t injured.
“He didn’t care that he was still in uniform, or that cameras might be around. He was just focused on the dog,” said one staff member. “He kept saying, ‘Kawaii… kawaii,’ which means ‘cute’ in Japanese.”
Later that evening, Ohtani posted a photo to Instagram of the dog wrapped in a Dodgers towel with the caption:
“Found a teammate after the game. Meet Momo 🐾”
Fans were quick to flood the comments with love, and the hashtag #MomoTheDodgerDog began trending within hours.
In the postgame press conference, Ohtani was asked if he planned to keep the dog. Smiling, he replied:
“She chose me. And I think she brings good luck.”
According to the team’s PR manager, Momo has already been cleared by a vet and is now living with Ohtani at his home in LA, complete with a tiny Dodgers collar and her own custom dog bed embroidered with #17.
It turns out that the biggest heart on the team might just belong to its biggest star — both on and off the field.