Shohei Ohtani enjoyed a record-breaking game on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the Chicago White Sox, and he also appeared to have some good fortune on his side.
As Kiké Hernández was up to bat, video captured a foul ball heading toward the dugout. Ohtani was standing on the dugout steps and quickly ducked out of the way as he picked up ball sailing in his direction.
Javier Herrera, one of the Dodgers’ bat boys, somehow caught a last-second glimpse of the baseball and got his hands up to make a catch that saved the presumptive National League MVP favorite. Ohtani dodged to his left and Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann dove right.
Will Ireton’s, Ohtani’s current interpreter and the Dodgers’ manager of performance operations, emerged from the clubhouse tunnel with his mouth open in a shocked expression, and manager Dave Roberts rose to his feet to applaud Herrera’s heads-up play.
#Dodgers bat boy Javier saved Ohtani! 😳
(🎥: @Showy___17) pic.twitter.com/KP5I4452c9— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 27, 2024
Herrera seemed to be the most unfazed of the group, calmly nodding his head and handing the baseball over to a fan sitting next to the dugout.
Ohtani finished the night 1-for-2 with one RBI and two walks. He set a new Dodgers franchise record behind a streak of 10 consecutive games with an RBI. Ohtani is batting .444/.563/1.194 with eight home runs and 17 RBI during his 10-game RBI streak.
Dodgers bat boy duties
Along with helping retrieve player’s equipment during games, Dodgers bat boys also are responsible for bringing out new defensive alignment cards whenever Roberts makes a pitching change and consistently taking baseballs to the home plate umpire, among several other duties.
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