Home Baseball Shohei Ohtani Surprises Joe Kelly’s Wife with Porsche in Recognition of Viral Jersey Number Campaign

Shohei Ohtani Surprises Joe Kelly’s Wife with Porsche in Recognition of Viral Jersey Number Campaign

Baseball — 12/27/2023

With his new team, Shohei Ohtani is already forming friendships.

The Dodgers player gave his new colleague Joe Kelly’s wife a brand-new Porsche as a thank you for her campaign to get the highly sought-after free agent to sign with Los Angeles.

Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth $700 million on Dec. 13 — the largest contract in sports history.

“You own it. From Shohei,” Ashley Kelly is informed in a social media video.

“His intention was to give you a Porsche. I promise.

The silver four-door sports automobile sitting at the end of the driveway was given to Kelly, who stood at her front door in disbelief.

After Ohtani signed, Joe Kelly gave his No. 17 to his new teammate and will instead wear No. 99 for the 2024 season, his wife announced in a video earlier this month.

She started to say, “Shut the…” but stopped herself in her tracks.

Ashley Kelly made headlines on the internet with her #Ohtake17 campaign, in which she shared her husband’s number 17 and made fun of her seven-month-old daughter Kai by renaming her ShoKai.

She also showed off a “Zaddy 17” sweater she planned to wear when the celebrity arrived, along with every piece of Kelly No. 17 clothing she possessed, including a pocketbook with a beaded strap and lots of jerseys.

On December 13, Ohtani inked the richest contract in sports history, a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani gifts Porsche to wife of Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly after her #Ohtake17 campaign helps persuade the superstar to sign $700m deal | Daily Mail Online

Ohtani will be a reliever and wear his No. 17 jersey. Joe Kelly dialed 99 instead of 10.

From 2019 on, Joe Kelly has worn the number during his two spells with the Dodgers.

In an Instagram video, Ashley Kelly gushed about her husband’s signing, tossing out his old jerseys and drawing a brand-new No. 99 “jersey” onto his white shirt. This revealed the number swap.

“The #Ohtake17 Campaign Is a Hit! “Merry Christmas, Dodger Fans,” she captioned a photo on Instagram.

Kelly was acquired by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox in a trade involving pitcher Lance Lynn last season.

In the offseason, Kelly re-signed with the Dodgers for a one-year contract worth $8 million.

Kelly’s advocacy may have had an impact on Ohtani, since the superstar is said to have been instrumental in getting Japanese talent Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed by his new squad.

Yamamoto turned down offers from the Yankees and Mets in favor of a record-breaking $325 million over 12 year contract.