Shohei Ohtani might have declined the opportunity to participate in this week’s Home Run Derby. But the Dodgers slugger didn’t leave All-Star week in Texas without a memorable big fly.
In the third inning of Major League Baseball’s 94th All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, Ohtani wowed the 39,343-person crowd the best way he knows how: Smoking a no-doubt, 400-foot home run halfway up the right-field stands before the American League’s eventual 5-3 win over the National League.
The blast was Ohtani’s first career home run in the Midsummer Classic, coming in his fourth All-Star Game appearance and first as a member of the Dodgers.
It was the first All-Star Game homer by a Dodgers player since Mike Piazza in 1996, and only the second ever by a Japanese-born player after Ichiro Suzuki’s inside-the-park home run in the 2007 game.
Ohtani’s blast opened the scoring Tuesday night, coming on a 2-and-0 splitter from Boston Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck. Like everyone else in the ballpark, Ohtani began to admire the drive as soon as he hit it, leaning back in the batter’s box with a long gaze before flipping his bat and rounding the bases.
From the dugout, Freeman flung his arms in celebration, while Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow’s jaw dropped agape.
As Ohtani came around third, he also put his arms in the air — doing the same hip-shaking, Dragon Ball Z-inspired long ball celebration that accompanied the NL-leading 29 long balls he hit for the Dodgers during the first half of the season.
The Dodgers had three other players in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. A night after winning the Home Run Derby, Teoscar Hernández started in center field but went 0 for two. Catcher Will Smith entered the game in the sixth inning and recorded a single. But, in the next at-bat, Freeman came off the bench and grounded into a double-play, stepping on the foot of Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor for an awkward out that required a video review.
Glasnow, a first-time All-Star, watched the game from the dugout, unable to take the mound because of a back injury that landed him on the injured list (Glasnow has been throwing this week, and expects to return from the IL when eligible next week).
As usual, however, no one topped Ohtani’s exploits Tuesday night.
On a night of stars at baseball’s Midsummer Classic, the 30-year-old sensation was the main attraction once again.