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Fans at the Rogers Center in Toronto loudly booed Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani ahead of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
While it’s common for fans to jeer opposing players during pregame lineups, the boos that serenaded Ohtani were uniquely loud compared to those for his Dodgers teammates.
Ohtani didn’t silence the crowd either when he came up for his first plate appearance of 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 both of those gifts back.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers and 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 during our meeting. I hope he brought it back, finally,” Schneider said Thursday.
“And the jacket for Decoy,” he added. “It’s like, ‘give us our stuff back already.'”
Ohtani smiled when he heard about Schneider’s remarks, saying simply through a translator, “It’s in my garage.”
The Blue Jays manager said he wasn’t sure how close the team was 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/Imagn Images)
“When we met with him, you felt good about it and you felt good about the feedback he gave about our organization and opportunities here,” Schneider said.
“But you never really know what a player feels in free agency, and there are a lot of things that also have to stand up for them personally. So you can’t really think about what if. You think about the 26 (players) we have.”
