LOS ANGELES — One of the biggest knocks Los Angeles Dodgers fans get is how relatively empty Dodger Stadium looks at first pitch. It makes sense, as dealing with rush hour traffic in L.A. just to get up Chavez Ravine is not for the faint of heart.
But on the evening of Monday, June 16, not even bumper-to-bumper traffic was going to stop the majority of the crowd from being in their seats at 7:10 p.m. local time. It was an occasion they’d been waiting on for more than 18 months:
Shohei Ohtani pitching in a Dodger uniform.
Before the national anthem was played, the stadium was filled and the crowd was roaring as Ohtani emerged from the dugout and walked to the bullpen to warm-up for his first start of the season. As he got loose, crowds flooded the left field area just to get a peak of what they’d been eagerly anticipating. From the section that shares a wall with the pen to the top of the reserve level, fans hugged the railing like they’re trying to get a high five from a WWE star.
All the focus was on how Ohtani would do on the mound. By the end of night, it was the bat that reminded everyone what makes him a unicorn of a baseball player, and the possibilities in 2025.
