Shohei Ohtani gifted a brand new Porsche to the wife of Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly after she campaigned to get the free agent to sign with the Dodgers, offering her husband’s No. 17 jersey if he came to Los Angeles.
Ashley Kelly posted video of herself standing flabbergasted at her front door as the silver car was delivered.
“It’s yours. From Shohei,” she is told in the video. “He wanted to gift you a Porsche. I swear.”
“Shut the…” she said before the video ends.
PRIZED JAPANESE PITCHER YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO INKS MASSIVE DEAL WITH DODGERS: REPORTS
Shohei Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Ashley Kelly’s #Ohtake17 campaign to recruit the two-way superstar went viral on social media as she jokingly offered to change her seven-month-old’s name from Kai to ShoKai and have her husband give up his No. 17 jersey, the number Ohtani wore with the Los Angeles Angels.
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly agreed to give up his No. 17 jersey to Ohtani. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Ohtani, a two-time AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels, later signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers.
Kelly is switching uniform numbers after he finalized his $8 million, one-year contract with the team earlier this month. Kelly will wear No. 99, opening No. 17 for Ohtani, who thanked him for the gesture.
“I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody,” Kelly said at the time. “If Shohei keeps performing, he’ll be a future Hall of Famer and I’ll be able to have my number retired. That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame.”
Shohei Ohtani speaks with Mark Walter, Dodgers Owner and Chairman, and Stan Kasten, Dodgers President and CEO, at Dodger Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Asked what Ohtani was giving him in return, Kelly said at the time, “Oh, there’s a list, but no comment.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
