Shohei Ohtani’s Dog Throws Out (More Like Fetches) First Pitch

Shohei Ohtani is having a heck of a season despite not being able to pitch, but at least one member of the family — Ohtani's dog, Decoy —got the opportunity to take the mound this season.

Wednesday night was Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, with the Baltimore Orioles in town for the second game of a three-game series.

I think you could slap the Dodgers star's name or likeness on anything and fans would line up in droves to get it, but this bobblehead was pretty great because it also featured Decoy.

So, given it was Shohei and Decoy bobblehead night who better to throw out the first pitch than Shohei Ohtani?

Well, obviously, he can't do that after undergoing offseason surgery so the honor went to his beloved Dutch Kooikerhondje.

Alright, so not as much a pitch as it was a ceremonial first fetch, but impressive nonetheless. All I could think about was how things would go if I tried to get my French bulldog, Carl, to do this.

The game would be delayed several hours and it'd get so late that they'd have to end beer sales and I would still be crouched behind home plate going, "C'mon, Carl! C'mon!"

Decoy, on the other hand, is a natural like his old man.

Now, in the last week or so, we have witnessed the full spectrum of dogs getting involved with baseball. You've got Decoy delivering a first pitch like a champ on the positive end of the spectrum, while on the less-good end of the spectrum you've got the bat dog who made a memorable debut for the Philadelphia Phillies single-A affiliate Clearwater Threshers.

So, Decoy's outing on the diamond was a little more successful (I would argue that bat dog Lily had some success too, but I mean in the traditional sense), but I think we can all agree that we love a dog at the ballpark moment.