WATCH: Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s 150 ft. larger-than-life mural gets unveiled in Little Tokyo
Los Angeles Angels v Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani, the man who single-handedly brought baseball back into the spotlight, is a hero not only in Japan but also in Los Angeles. In a recent event, the baseball phenom was honored with a gigantic mural in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district.
“Via Dodgers: The unveiling today of the Shohei mural in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. What an honour!” – @ohtanicanada
The 150-foot mural was conceptualized and made by artist Robert Vargas. It is located on the wall of the Miyako Hotel on First Street. Vargas said that the installation was made freehand and neither grids nor stencils were used as guides for the amazing artwork.
With the title “LA Rising,” the display was unveiled just ahead of MLB’s Opening Day stateside and will symbolize unity, culture and community. It is also a nod to the city of Los Angeles and Shohei Ohtani’s home country, Japan.
Robert Vargas, in an interview with AOL, said that there couldn’t have been a more fitting place for the mural.
“I can’t imagine this mural living anywhere but Little Tokyo,” Vargas said.
With Opening Day just a few beats away, it will be interesting to see how baseball’s greatest sensation handles the limelight in the midst of one of the biggest issues in the sport in recent times.
Shohei Ohtani is not out of the woods
Despite a press conference denying his involvement in illegal betting, Shohei Ohtani is not completely out of the woods yet. The Dodgers are set to begin their 2024 campaign against the St. Louis Cardinals at home.
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The MLB is still looking into the theft and betting allegations concerning him and his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Probably not the case, but if Ohtani is anyhow involved in placing bets on a baseball game, then the league may serve him with suspension. If he has placed bets on a baseball game, he will serve a year-long ban, and if it’s on the game that he was part of, then he may get a lifelong ban.
The team invested nearly $1 billion just this preseason alone to secure the signatures of some of the most coveted names in the sport. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Kike Hernandez are just some of the stars signed by the Dodgers to help the newly acquired Shohei Ohtani get to the postseason and potentially a World Series.
