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Fans at Rogers Center in Toronto loudly booed Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani before Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
While it is common for fans to boo opposing players during pregame lineups, the boos that accompanied Ohtani were exceptionally loud compared to those of his Dodgers teammates.
Ohtani also didn’t calm the crowd when he stepped up to the plate for his first appearance in the game, striking out to lead off the first inning.
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When Ohtani entered free agency in the winter of 2023, he visited the Blue Jays as a potential suitor before signing with the Dodgers.
The Blue Jays gave Ohtani a hat and jacket for Decoy, Ohtani’s dog. Blue Jays manager John Schneider joked that he would like to have both gifts back.
THE DODGERS TRY TO JOIN THE EXCLUSIVE RANKS OF THE MLB IN THE DEFENSE OF THE WORLD SERIES TITLE VS. blue jays
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays will meet in the 2025 World Series. (FOX)
“I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat that he took from us at our meeting. I hope he finally brought it back,” Schneider said Thursday.
“And the jacket for Decoy,” he added. “It’s like, ‘Give us our stuff back now.'”
Ohtani smiled when he heard Schneider’s comments and simply said through a translator, “It’s in my garage.”
The Blue Jays manager said he wasn’t sure how close the team came to signing the Japanese superstar.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of Game 1 of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Centre. (Dan Hamilton/Image Images)
“When we met with him, it felt good and he felt good about the feedback he was giving about our organization and the opportunity here,” Schneider said.
“But you never really know what a player is feeling in free agency, and there are a lot of things that have to line up for them personally as well. So, you can’t really think about what if. You think about the 26 (players) we have.”
