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The Los Angeles Angels rolled out the red carpet for Shohei Ohtani as he returned to Angel Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Japanese star recently moved to town in a record $700 million deal after half a decade with the Angels, where he was twice named American League MVP.
In recent days, Ohtani has been in the headlines for an explosive MLB investigation, after his friend and performer Ippei Mizuhara was fired amid a gambling investigation.
Earlier this week, the two-way star broke his silence, insisting he never bet on sports and accusing Mizuhara of lying and stealing money.
On Tuesday, Ohtani had the opportunity to let his baseball do the talking once again.
Shohei Ohtani received a hero’s welcome upon his return to Angel Stadium on Tuesday night.
Highlights of Ohtani’s MVP season were displayed on the screen as he stepped up to bat.
He spent half a decade with the Angels before joining the Dodgers in a $700 million deal.
Ohtani was greeted with a standing ovation from fans upon his return to the Dodgers.
However, as the Japanese star came up to bat in the top of the first inning, a video began playing on the stadium’s jumbotron. It showed highlights from Ohtani’s 2023 MVP season.
Fans began cheering and applauding as the video paid tribute to the two-way star, with the announcers’ comments blaring from the stadium speakers.
Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box and got into position while the video was still playing. But he was soon forced to turn away, an almost embarrassed expression on his face.
“I think Shohei forgot that it’s a big deal around here,” the announcer said. “We have to have some love here for Shohei Ohtani (given) what he did in that uniform.”
Ohtani even apologized to the Angels pitcher for the delay before smiling and waving to the crowd.
The $700 million star took off his helmet and waved to Angels fans who rose to pay tribute to baseball’s richest star. Ohtani responded with a bow.
Ohtani greets former teammate Brandon Drury during Tuesday’s exhibition game
The Japanese two-way star greets the fans, who stood to welcome him back to Angel Stadium
It came a day after Ohtani broke his silence on MLB’s explosive betting investigation.
The Angels won Tuesday’s exhibition 4-3, with Ohtani going 0-for-2 at the plate.
Ohtani’s lawyers say their client was the victim of a “massive theft” by Mizuhara after $4.5 million in wire transfers were withdrawn from the Japanese slugger’s account to pay off alleged gambling debts.
The star said he was “very sad and surprised” that Mizuhara would do this, adding (through an interpreter): “I never bet on baseball or any other sport and I never asked anyone to do it on my behalf and “I never went to a betting house.” .’
“In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and telling lies,” Ohtani said.
‘I never bet on baseball or any other sport, nor did I ever ask anyone to do so on my behalf, and I never went to a bookmaker to bet on sports.
‘Until a couple of days ago, I didn’t even know this was happening. Just to review the result, in conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and telling lies.