Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of a historic season. Fans queued up in numbers to grab a piece of memorabilia during the slugger’s bobblehead night on Wednesday.
It was an exclusive giveaway that featured Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy. Apart from the usual bobbleheads, there were also a few rare ‘gold’ bobbleheads for fans.
Given the exclusivity of the giveaway, veteran Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly exchanged one of his used gloves with a fan for a gold Shohei Ohtani bobblehead. However, teammate Blake Treinen said the Dodgers players were given the gold bobbleheads in their lockers, saying on the “Foul Territory” podcast:
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“Joe Kelly had his son Knox at the field that day. Some guy was showing his gold Shohei bobblehead and said Joe I will share it for a glove.
“So Joe threw his game glove up thinking he got one of like five gold bobbleheads. Because we already had our bobblehead in the locker and it was all gold, so he gave away his glove for nothing.”
The Dodgers reportedly gave away 40,000 regular bobbleheads with 2000 special gold Shohei and Decoy bobbleheads in the mix.
While Joe Kelly’s intentions were in the right place, he could have done without the viral exchange with fans.
Blake Treinen shared the story of Joe Kelly’s exchanged glove
Blake Treinen was also surprised by the value of the special giveaways, as some of the gold bobbleheads were on sale for as high as $18,000.
“It was crazy the prices the gold bobblehead was trying to be sold for. Upwards like 15 grand, it was blowing my mind.”
Treinen felt that it was a funny incident, saying Kelly’s exchange was not worth it, as a used glove is of sentimental value for pitchers and that Dodgers players were already getting gold Shohei Ohtani bobbleheads.
“You guys know how sacred gloves are to us players,” said Treinen. “This guy who has Joe’s glove is going all around showing the glove. I swear a100 people tried on the glove. I don’t think fans know how sacred the gloves are to us.”
Blake Treinen pitched a hitless inning out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in their 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Shohei Ohtani’s return to Anaheim for the first time since his blockbuster move in the offseason.
Edited by Bhargav
