Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Dodgers) gave a supercar Porsche as a gift to fellow pitcher Joe Kelly, who gave up his uniform number 17.
Kelly’s wife, Ashley Kelly, released a video of the gift she received from Ohtani through her social networking service (SNS) on the 24th (Korean time).
In this video, Ashley Kelly is shown surprised to see a Porsche in front of her house, and Kelly tells her wife, “It’s your car. “It’s a gift from Otani to you,” he explains.
The Dodgers also uploaded this video to the club’s official channel and introduced, “Ohtani gave a new car as a gift to Kelly’s wife, who launched the ‘Ohtake17 campaign.'”
The reason why Otani gave the Kelly family such a big gift was because he was given jersey number 17 first.
Previously, the Dodgers began recruiting Ohtani, who had obtained free agent status, and Kelly expressed his intention to give up his number 17 uniform for Ohtani.
Ohtani, who entered the Major League in 2018, has used number 17 with his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. And he signed a 10-year, $700 million (approximately 912.1 billion won) contract with the Dodgers, joining forces with Kelly. Additionally, Otani was given jersey number 17 through Kelly’s consideration. Instead, Kelly wore the number 99, previously used by Ryu Hyun-jin, on his uniform.
Ashley Kelly also used the ‘Ohtake17′ campaign, which means having Ohtani wear the Dodgers’ number 17, by posting a video of Kelly wearing the new number 99 on social media.
Accordingly, Ohtani presented a supercar worth over 100 million won to Kelly, who gave up his uniform number 17, and Kelly’s wife, who welcomed him to the Dodgers.
Local media praised Ohtani’s Porsche gift, saying, “It is difficult to explain how surprising this is, but it shows Ohtani’s character well.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.