Ohtani gifts Porsche to wife of Joe Kelly, pitcher who gave up jersey number

Saturday, December 23, 2023
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Shohei Ohtani knows how to show his appreciation.

The wife of Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly posted video of a brand new Porsche showing up in front of their home, apparently a gift from the team's new $700 million superstar.
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"It's yours. From Shohei," she is told in the video. "He wanted to gift you a Porsche. I swear."



The gift apparently is a sign of respect to the couple who both played enthusiastic supporting roles in enticing Ohtani to sign with the Dodgers.

Joe Kelly, who recently signed a new deal with the Dodgers, agreed to give up his jersey number 17 to Ohtani. That's the same number he wore with the Angels for six years.
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Before Ohtani committed to the Dodgers, Ashley Kelly was vocal on social media in recruiting pitches with the hashtag #Ohtake17. Some of them were tongue-in-cheek, like renaming their new baby son Kai to ShoKai, and offering him every piece of gear the family has with the number 17 on it.



Joe Kelly will now wear #99, as his wife enthusiastically announced in this followup video taking all the #17 gear out of the house.

Ohtani, widely considered the best player in baseball, inked a stunning 10-year, $700 million deal with the team earlier this month.

He may have also played a role in recruiting another superstar from Japan, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The two players are wasting no time getting to know each other. Matsuhisa Beverly Hills posted a picture of the two dining there together on Saturday.
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