A famous pop star and her football-playing boyfriend aren’t the most iconic couple right now. Shohei Ohtani with his dog Decoy, though!
Their very own baseball card exists. There is a passport for the dog, sort of. The game and the dog are now frozen in time in the snow.
The Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan presented a massive sculpture of Ohtani and his dog earlier this week. As far as anyone can tell, the two are playing fetch with a snowball.
“Snowhei Ohtani” (or is it “Shohei Snowtani”?), a festival staple, may be Decoy’s first. Since at least 2013, when Ohtani was 19 years old and had just completed his rookie season with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, he has been the subject of snow sculpture in Sapporo. He wore a batting helmet from the Los Angeles Angels last winter while he was on display at the festival.
The Dodgers logo is noticeably absent from this year’s sculpture. The two-time MVP would be a safe bet next to the most valuable puppy in baseball.