"I've always loved Shohei Ohtani, he's ba**ss" - Joe Kelly's wife Ashley opens up about the Japanese superstar to Dodgers campaign

Last offseason, the biggest name on the market was Shohei Ohtani. Everyone wanted the two-time MVP, who was a free agent and was about to sign a big deal. Amid this, LA Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly's wife, Ashley, started the campaign by offering her husband's jersey No. 17 to encourage Ohtani to sign with the team.

Eventually, the Dodgers did sign Ohtani to a then-record 10-year, $700 million deal. But what's more, as a token of appreciation to give away Kelly's jersey number, Ohtani gifted Kelly a silver Porsche.

Recalling the entire tale on former teammate Justin Turner's wife, Kourtney Turner's podcast, "Holding Kourt," Ashley said (37:20 onwards):

"I was just messing around on Instagram, and then the campaign started. And I was like, 'What have I done?'"

However, Ashley added the campaign was not completely out of the blue and that she and her family really liked Ohtani.

"But to give perspective, it wasn’t just something random — I’ve always loved Ohtani," Ashley said. "He’s badass. You can’t match that. Knox had Angels shirts with Ohtani’s name on the back in his closet. It wasn’t just some random thing."

Ashley also added that she wouldn't have offered her husband's jersey number just to anyone.

"If this were anyone else, there’s no way in hell 17 would be given up—no way in hell. But I had such a connection to it," she said.

Joe Kelly's wife Ashley reveals behind the scenes of the moment when she was surprised to see Porsche standing in her driveway

Upon signing Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers shared a heartwarming video of Ashley Kelly's reaction upon seeing a silver Porsche standing in her driveway and two men standing in front of her, saying:

"It's yours. From Shohei."

On Kourtney Turner's podcast, Ashley revealed that her husband knew weeks before about the sweet gesture from Ohtani. When the two men knocked on the door of Kelly's house, Ashley recalled how her husband convinced her to put on makeup while lying that her mother had come to meet her.

"Joe goes, 'Do you think you want to put on clothes? Maybe some makeup?' He never says that,'" Ashley said. "And I was like, 'Huh?' And he goes, 'Your mom’s coming over.' And I was like, 'My mom? You think she cares about that? My mom knows what I look like.'

"So, because he said that, I wanted to make myself look even more haggard. I start walking upstairs, and then — the knock. And I was like… kept walking. And Joe was like, 'It’s for you.' And I was like, 'How do you know that?' I had no idea what he was up to ... And then I opened the door, and it was just two men standing there."

Here's the video, capturing Ashley Kelly getting surprised:

Both Joe Kelly and Ashley continue to drive the car while being grateful for Ohtani's heartwarming gesture.