For this first time this season, Dodger Stadium was flooded by fans hopeful to secure one of their highly-sought after bobbleheads, featuring none other than reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani.
The game, which began at 5:38 p.m., ended both a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves and the Dodgers’ six-game homestand.
“On behalf of Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) is dedicating the night’s 50/50 raffle proceeds to families who are rebuilding after the Eaton and Palisades fires,” said a release from the team.
Initially, the team said that gates opened two hours ahead of game time on Wednesday and that only the first 40,000 fans inside would be given a bobblehead. However, they made a late surprise announcement revealing that everyone who arrived would be given a figurine.
Hundreds of fans began to arrive well ahead of game time, with some people living up outside of Chavez Ravine as early as 10 a.m.
Dodgers fan eager to enter Dodger Stadium to snag a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead on April 2, 2025. KCAL News
The figurine honors Ohtani’s incredible and record-setting 2024 campaign in which he became Major League Baseball’s first-ever member of the 50 home run and 50 stolen bases club. He’ll be holding both a bat and the MVP Award.
It’s the first of five Ohtani-themed giveaways scheduled this season, four of which will be bobbleheads. In all, they’re planning to hand out a whopping 21 bobbleheads, on top of dozens of other planned promotions this season.
In true Hollywood fashion, the slugger mashed an opposite field walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Dodgers to a 6-5 win over the Braves, continuing their record-setting start to the season. They’re now 8-0, the best ever start for a reigning World Series champ.
Bobblehead nights are usually mayhem at Dodger Stadium, but last year fans could be seen lining up hours ahead of first pitch hoping to snag one of the giveaways featuring the newest face of the Boys in Blue. Though many fans looked to secure a keepsake featuring the Japanese phenom, others looked to turn it into big cash on the resale market, with some items being sold for upwards of $1,000.
They gave two Ohtani bobbleheads away to fans last year, even creating some special gold figurines to season ticket holders.
Dean FioresiDean Fioresi is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. He covers breaking news throughout Southern California. When he’s not writing about local events, he enjoys focusing on sports and entertainment.
