Shohei Ohtani is being compared by greats like Magic Johnson to Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift—such is his popularity. The Los Angeles Dodgers star has broken all baseball records with his entry to the 50-50 club, making a huge impact on the Dodgers team and justifying why they signed him for $700 million in the first place. Moreover, his jersey sales, too, have toppled the charts.

But not everyone is sharing the same love for Shohei Ohtani. On Wednesday, at Citi Field, the New York crowd had something different in mind. When the two-time AL MVP stepped into the field, the Mets fans greeted him with a round of boos. Well, as they say, you can’t please everyone—so, in a classic New York fashion, the crowd dismissed the ‘hero’ of the season. But Ohtani, instead of paying much heed, actually booed along with the crowd—what a sport!

Shohei Ohtani turns Citi Field’s boos into a light-hearted moment

Citi Field was buzzing before the NLCS Game 3 first pitch. After all, the Dodgers and Mets each had one win before this, making it an important game. The New York crowd went berserk, cheering for their team. Meanwhile, Ohtani, who is used to hearing loud cheers of ‘ M-V-P, M-V-P’ and ‘OMG Ohtani’, was greeted in unfamiliar territory as the crowd booed him.

But Shohei Ohtani didn’t let the boos fade his morale. Instead of reacting negatively, he turned the moment around and booed himself along with the crowd. Moreover, he ran along the third base line and had that trademark big smile on his face. After the game, Teoscar Hernández said, “The attitude from Shohei, it doesn’t matter if he does not hit that homer or he hits two or three homers, he’s going to give the same emotions from him.” Ohtani’s team is proud of their star, as much as the fans are. It does take a special kind of athlete to handle such a ‘warm’ reception, and Ohtani did it with grace – reciprocating the rebukes with a massive hit.

Shohei Ohtani answered the ‘boos’ in his own style

In the light of NCLS, all eyes were on Shohei Ohtani. the game was crucial and the Los Angeles Dodgers needed that win to get an upper hand; plus, there were growing talks about Ohtani and his slump – many said he’s not performing his best in the new position. The stats backed this claim; Ohtani had a 7 for 9 with runners on base and dropped to a sad 0 for 22 with bases on clear. Despite this, Dave Roberts had no plans to change the position for this star player, and finally, Ohtani came through – big time!

On Wednesday night, Shohei Ohtani unleashed a fiery swing, an answer not just to the boos of the stadium but also to the talks about his slump! While the Dodgers were already comfortable with their lead, Ohtani’s massive three-run homer, cemented the Dodgers’ 8-0 lead over the New York Mets. Mookie Betts, an avid Shohei supporter, also voiced his opinion on the slump narrative, saying, “I don’t know why people — I have no idea why people are talking about Shohei. He’s the best player on the field. Every day. There’s no need to worry about him.”

Well, Ohtani did silence everyone in the most humbling way possible and also thrived under most pressures. With the Yankees and the Dodgers both acting it out in their segments, do you think we can see pinstripes vs. blues game after four decades? Let us know your take in the comments below.