Shohei Ohtani is currently the hero of the Los Angeles Dodgers thanks to his spectacular offensive contributions. But even heroes have their own heroes, as demonstrated by the Dodgers’ star in paying tribute to his recent savior.
Ohtani is the player of the moment in the Dodgers’ offense. With a batting average of .322, 25 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 100 hits, it is no exaggeration to say that the dual threat has the team on track for the playoffs and to win the NL West Division title.
With Ohtani at his peak and the team still dealing with injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, losing the engine of their offense would have been a severe blow to the team. Therefore, the player couldn’t help but send his sincerest thanks to the batboy Javier Herrera
Shohei Ohtani’s hero
In a recent Instagram Story, Shohei posted a picture of Herrera surrounded by reporters with the caption “MY HERO!!” In this way, Ohtani paid tribute to Herrera, who saved him from a hit this Friday that could have cost the dual-way phenom dearly.
It is worth remembering that in Thursday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field against the Chicago White Sox, a blazing foul ball by Kiki Hernandez almost hit Ohtani, who was inside the Los Angeles dugout at the time.
Although Ohtani tried to take cover as soon as he saw the speeding ball coming at him, Herrera’s eagle eye and feline reflexes saved him from the dangerous impact. Despite this, the Dodgers’ batboy did not boast about the feat and simply said he was doing his job.
Just part of the job
In statements to the press after the game, Herrera downplayed what happened. “I saw the pitch all the way through. It hit the bat, and the ball pretty much found me. I was able to grab it. I was just doing my job,” said the 38-year-old batboy.
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Despite Herrera’s modesty, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the feat by saying, “Yeah, he needs a contract extension, a raise.”
In the end, the Dodgers won the game against the White Sox 4-0 and swept the series 3-0. Over the weekend, the team lost a tough series against the San Francisco Giants 2-1, but at least they still have their star batter, thanks to Herrera’s concentration.
