The inaugural season for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani could not have been scripted any better. The 30 year old Japanese phenom won the National League MVP award, had the first 50 Home run, 50 stolen base season in Major League Baseball history, and won the World Series – giving the city of Angels its first championship parade since 1988. But what nobody could not script was that a few months later the city would be ravaged by wildfires.
Ohtani announced on Instagram that he is donating $500k to help firefighters and residents and animals that were forced to flee the flames. “We’ll be donating $500,000 to help those firefighters and those forced to live in shelters to help animals in need,” Ohtani wrote on his Instagram page. The caption accompanied a post with the words “LA Strong” written on a black tee shirt. The merchandise is part of the joint partnership between Fanatics and other professional athletes and organizations to raise money for the efforts.
Shohei Ohtani, who famously signed a 10 year, $700 Million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2023 offseason, has made Southern California his home for the past seven years. Ohtani is one of the most beloved and recognized athletes in the world, and especially in his home country of Japan – where he is a national treasure. He is also no stranger to philanthropy. Ohtani has donated to a number of causes in his home country, including 60,000 youth gloves to elementary schools.
Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by the LA Wildfires and Shohei Ohtani’s half a million dollar donation will surely help out all the residents and animals who don’t know where their next sleep will be. “I sincerely hope for a speedy recovery,” Ohtani wrote.
He has also always been a proponent of animal causes, his dog Decoy is a superstar in his own right. It’s heartwarming to know that an athlete of Ohtani’s magnitude and talent still takes the time and the effort to help our neighbors and fellow Angelenos when they need it the most. He may not speak the language, but the two-way baseball icon is fluent in two languages we all know: love and gratitude.