Home Baseball It’s Sho-time! Dodgers Sensation Shohei Ohtani Receives Superstar Treatment in L.A. as City Adorns Itself with Spectacular Murals Celebrating the $700M Signing

It’s Sho-time! Dodgers Sensation Shohei Ohtani Receives Superstar Treatment in L.A. as City Adorns Itself with Spectacular Murals Celebrating the $700M Signing

Baseball — 12/19/2023

Only a few weeks after signing a $700 million, ten-year contract with the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani is the latest sports star in Los Angeles to have an art mural created in his honor.

Graffiti street artist Jonas never purchased a few cans of spray paint to complete the piece that is painted on the side of his downtown Los Angeles store, Prociety, near Main Street and West 15th.

He has already painted murals of Anthony Bourdain and LeBron James.

‘Had to welcome @shoheiohtani to LA the only way we know how,’ he said on Instagram on Saturday, accompanying a picture of his most recent artwork.

A mural of Shohei Ohtani in a LA Dodgers uniform has been spotted in downtown Los Angeles

It took Never roughly a day and a half to finish the chef d’oeuvre, according to TMZ Sports.

Ohtani is not new to Los Angeles. After all, a fan noted under Never’s Instagram post of his painting devoted to the Japanese, two-way hero that he played for the Angels for the first six years of his MLB career.

“Were we given this much publicity while he was with the Angels?” The person wrote

Ohtani signed a whopping $700million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers earlier this month

Before the Opening Day of the 2024 season on March 28, a ton of Ohtani murals are anticipated to appear throughout Los Angeles. Another one has been seen in Manhattan Beach.

Street art in Los Angeles is well-known, and murals featuring Kobe Bryant can be found all throughout the city—especially after his passing in January 2020.

This year’s Hank Aaron Awards, which MLB presents to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league, were won on Saturday by Ohtani, 29, and Ronald Acuña Jr.

A panel of Hall of Famers and past winners, which this year included Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, John Smoltz, and Robin Yount, votes in addition to those cast by fans determine the MLB award.

Ohtani has another mural in Manhattan Beach, with plenty more to come before Opening Day

Additionally, the two were voted Most Valuable Awards winners by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America last month. The first player to win MVP twice in a row was Ohtani.

After leading the AL with 44 home runs and batting, Ohtani became a free agent and left the Angels.20 stolen bases, eight triples, 304 RBIs, and 96 runs batted in during a season at the plate that terminated on September 3 due to an unrelated injury.

Before rupturing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23, the right-hander was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound. He also walked 55 and struck out 167 in 132 innings. He will not pitch the following season due to elbow surgery.