Donald Trump jokes about possible career for Shohei Ohtani outside of baseball

Modified Apr 08, 2025 06:21 GMT

World Series Champs Los Angeles Dodgers Visit The White House - Source: Getty — Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani shaking hand with US President Donald Trump (Getty)

US President Donald Trump had an interesting take on Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani as he invited the squad for their 2024 World Series title. As the POTUS congratulated the team, he singled out Ohtani and lauded him for his accomplishments and contributions . Trump also suggested that the reigning NL MVP could have a career outside baseball for his looks.

After signing a landmark $700 million deal, Ohtani had a historic season with the Dodgers. The modern-day baseball unicorn won his third unanimous MVP, opened the 50-50 club and also claimed the World Series title to cap off his impressive campaign.

During the White House visit, club leader Clayton Kershaw spoke on the podium and subsequently awarded Trump a Dodger jersey.

The Dodgers are the second team to visit the White House as the champion of a major American sport, after the Florida Panthers, since Trump's return to the White House this year.

Apart from his previous interaction with the president, Ohtani was also invited into the Oval Office. The POTUS then gave the baseball star commemorative tokens as he expressed his admiration for the modern-day legend.

Shohei Ohtani's commercial pose becomes the new Dodgers' celebration

The Los Angeles Dodgers minted a new celebration into their selection. After the famous Freddie Freeman celebration that looked similar to Dragon Ball Z's "Fusion" move, the team incoporated a new way to hype themselves up courtesy of Shohei Ohtani.

During their astounding come-from-behind victory against the Atlanta Braves on April 2, Ohtani used a move that was originally from a commercial ad he had shot in Japan as he walked off Atlanta via a solo home run.

In the ad, Shohei Ohtani held the Decorte Liposome bottle, a skincare product, and swiped it across his eyes as he smiled at the camera. The Dodgers players aren't ones to let things pass and took a leaf out of Ohtani's book.

Since the Braves game, Tommy Edman, Max Muncy, Kike Hernandez and Mookie Betts have busted out the new celebration move.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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