A packed crowd for the Los Angeles Dodgers regular season opener at Dodger Stadium was treated to a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers big three of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani carried the load, powering Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas out of the game after 4.1 innings. Some added pressure may have come from Ohtani’s private suite, with his Dutch Kooikerhondje, “Dekopin”, in attendance.
Ohtani knowing that his good boy was watching may have provided him a boost as he went on to double in his first at-bat, and he also drew a single and a walk. However, he may have been trying to do too much as he was thrown out in the first inning trying to turn his double into a triple.
In English, Ohtani calls Dekopin by the nickname “Decoy,” and his popularity really took off when the superstar was announced as the 2023 American League MVP Award winner on MLB Network.
His dog’s name became a mystery after Ohtani wouldn’t divulge him name. It sent the internet in a flurry of speculation, with perhaps a hint of his free agency destination possibly attached.
Ohtani eventually revealed the name during his press conference for signing with the Dodgers, and he has been posting more photos of his dog on Instagram since then.
Shohei Ohtani’s dog receives fake visa for travel
During a January visit to the United States Embassy in Tokyo, Decoy and Ohtani met with Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel presented Ohtani with a fake United States visa for Decoy, with documentation that includes 000MVPUP000 as the passport number and a control number of 000GOODBOY000.
Now that he’s geared for travel anywhere, Dekopin can spread his own stardom even further as he continues to build popularity in Los Angeles and Japan.
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