After making a record-breaking $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani made his first trip back to Angel Stadium on Tuesday night. He was greeted with a big cheer from his old team, the LA Angels. LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani returns to Angels Stadium to a big greeting.
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani returns to Angels Stadium to a big greeting
The Daily Mail said that Ohtani played for the Angels for five years and was named AL MVP twice before going across the city to play for the Dodgers. As the Japanese star walked onto the field, the Angels played a film on the stadium jumbotron that showed highlights from Ohtani’s 2023 MVP season.
Fans cheered and applauded as the 29-year-old two-way star walked up to bat in the top of the first inning. A video salute to him was shown on the big screen. When Ohtani walked into the batter’s box, he had to quickly leave with an almost embarrassed look on his face because he wasn’t able to give his best performance, even though he was welcomed with open arms.
The Angels won the practice game on Tuesday 4–3, and Ohtani went 0–2 at the plate. Not long ago, Ohtani was all over the news because his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired during a major league baseball (MLB) investigation into gambling.
Attorneys for Ohtani say that Mizuhara committed a “massive theft” by taking $4.5 million from the baseball star’s account through wire transfers to pay off gambling bills. And this week, Ohtani finally spoke out about it.
“Never bet on baseball or any other sports, never asked someone to do it for me, and never went through a bookmaker,” the star said through an interpreter.
He also said, “Ippei has been lying and taking money from my account.”
