LOS ANGELES — The LA Dodgers were celebrating Japanese Heritage Night, and in the bottom of the seventh inning everything was lining up perfectly for Shohei Ohtani to be the hero, as he hit a 433-foot home run to right center field giving the home team a 4-3 lead.
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Shohei Ohtani connects for his 27th home run! MVP swing.
https://t.co/W4LgLIufiV— The Incline: Dodgers Podcast (@TheInclinePod) July 3, 2024
That is to say, upon further review, when you zoom in on where Ohtani's NL-leading 27th home run landed, it actually struck a kid in the head.
Shohei Ohtani’s home run really drilled this kid in the face 😭 pic.twitter.com/7q9u3cmWtg
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) July 3, 2024
Unfortunately, none of the adult fans in the general area of the kid helped at all, as every single one of them whiffed on catching it. Considering the ball off the bat had an exit velocity of 112 miles per hour, many were concerned for the kid after the blow to the head.
Oh no they could not save the little kid!😭😂 #Dodgers #ShoheiOhtani during a homerun. pic.twitter.com/Ss449sRDmP
— Edward Cdog 🌎SnuggleGoon (@RocketBunny4six) July 3, 2024
Fans took to social media to express their discontent for no one being able to save the little one from a huge headache.
"Lifetime ban for every uncoordinated fan in a 2-seat radius," said someone after the game.
Also, it was bad timing as the camera panned to Ohtani celebrating and smiling right after the slow-mo clip of the kid getting rocked in the noggin was replayed.
"Look at the grin on the face as he hurts that child. The whole dugout was celebrating. Disgusting," some sarcastic fan said on Reddit.
Did Shohei Ohtani’s National League leading 27th home run of the season just bonk a poor kid? Hope they give him the ball #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/XkBZEADPFJ
— Oscar Cancio (@Loco4LongBeach) July 3, 2024
There is no update yet on whether the kid suffered any head trauma-related injury, but everyone hopes he was just able to shake it off.
With this in mind, many are wondering if the Dodgers or Shohei will give an apology gesture to the little guy, as the Japanese superstar did something similar to the fan who caught his first home run ball of the season and also the first one of his career.
The boy who got Ohtani’s 1st homerun ball in the MLB
Got to meet Shohei and even gave him a signed baseball bat pic.twitter.com/OJ5Bv5DAvq https://t.co/BOOwZXGwo0
— shobae 大谷翔平 ¹⁷ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁷ 🐶 (@shoheisaveus) April 5, 2023
All in all, besides injuring kids, Shohei doesn't have much to apologize to Dodgers fans for, as he is hitting a career-best ,320 this season, to go along with 27 homers, 64 RBI's, and 69 runs.
With a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers now improve to a 53-33 record, as they stay atop the NL West.
Related: Dodgers Bat Boy Saves Shohei Ohtani's Life With Incredible Bare-Handed Catch
