A sprinkle of Shohei Ohtani amidst a sea of Dodger blue and a whole lot of frenzied fans—that was the scene at Dodger Stadium on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The occasion? The first-ever Shotime bobblehead giveaway. And the turnout? A staggering 53,527 strong—the biggest crowd this season—the highest since 2019.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts, wasn’t shocked one bit. “Shohei creates a stir,” he remarked, a familiar glint adorning his eye. “I can’t imagine what it’s like outside.” So, when a reporter chimed in stating “There’s a line down the hill,” it didn’t take Roberts a second to chime back: “Is that right? Yeah, that’s not surprising.” Inside, it was electric. Fans snaked around the stadium, eager to snag the prized collectible: a smiling Ohtani, a bat perched on his shoulder, in a box adorned with Japanese anime artistry. But the frenzy wasn’t just about the bobblehead.

It was about Shohei Ohtani, the two-way phenom who’s been redefining baseball since the moment he stepped onto American soil. “The more I see him every day,” Roberts mused, “the more I realize how special of a person and a ballplayer he is.”

The Unicorn’s impact on the Blue Crew isn’t just about the packed stadiums and the bobblehead craze that went down yesterday night. It’s about his on-field performance, too. Roberts, while discussing Ohtani’s explosive start to the season in the post-game interview, attributed it to Shotime’s laser focus on hitting. With the pitching duties off his plate for now following his TJ recovery, Ohtani is hitting harder and more consistently than ever.

Though impressive, Roberts noted that it’s not just Ohtani’s bat speed that sets him apart. “It’s the collective amount of balls he hits at a certain velocity,” the skipper explained. “His ability to hit to all fields, get on base a ton, and vary the walks—all that stuff makes him extremely dangerous.” Of course, Dave Roberts himself wasn’t immune to the bobblehead fever.

Beyond the Bobbleheads: The Shohei Ohtani phenomenon

“I keep ’em somewhere,” he chuckled, admitting, “I’ve got quite the collection,” thanks to receiving one for each bobblehead night. Even all the players got in on the action, with boxes of bobbleheads waiting for them in their lockers.

This Ohtani-mania is far from over. The Dodgers have three more giveaways planned this season: a hat, another bobblehead, and a shirt. With Shohei Ohtani’s star power showing no signs of waning, Dodger Stadium is set to be buzzing all season. And as for the game itself?

A 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds might have dampened the mood a little, but not for long. After all, when you’ve got the Unicorn himself on your team, every game is supposed to turn out to be a potential spectacle. And for Dodger fans, that’s something to cheer about—win or not, bobbleheads in hand.

This isn’t just about a baseball game or a giveaway. It’s about the Shohei Ohtani phenomenon, a force that’s been uniting fans across the globe and its various cultures, breaking records—and, as Dave Roberts put it—creating a stir. And that, my friends, is anything but surprising.