This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
LOS ANGELES -- In anticipation for his first bobblehead night as a member of the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and everyone in the organization knew there would be heightened attention and desire to collect the item.
With all those eyeballs centered on Ohtani, the Dodgers’ superstar wanted to make sure the night was special in a meaningful way. Before Thursday’s loss to the Reds, Ohtani surprised 13-year-old Albert Lee, who has had three open-heart surgeries since he was 3 years old, and now only has half a heart.
Lee came recommended as a special fan by Dr. Gary Satou, the Director of Pediatric Echocardiography at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Lee, of course, is also a huge fan of Ohtani and the Dodgers. His reaction when Ohtani walked into the Dodgers’ interview room was priceless.
“Nervous?” Ohtani said after shaking the 13-year-old’s hand. Ohtani then gifted Lee, who is also from a military family, a signed jersey and delivered the big surprise: He would be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch with the two-time American League Most Valuable Player behind the plate.
“If I was a child [in need] I would be very happy as well,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s something I wanted to [give back] in return.”
There was one more gift that needed delivering, and Ohtani relayed the news that after throwing out the first pitch, Albert would be watching the game from a suite. That caused his jaw to drop once more.
Once Ohtani left the room, Lee was understandably able to get some words out and summed the experience up perfectly.
“What the heck just happened?”
“First thing I thought was like, ‘Oh, he’s tall.’” Lee went on. “I couldn’t even breathe for like 30 seconds.”