In a heartwarming gesture, Shohei Ohtani, the two-way baseball superstar, recently gifted a brand new Porsche to Ashley Kelly, the wife of his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate, Joe Kelly. The surprise came after Ashley spearheaded a social media campaign, playfully dubbed #Ohtake17, to lure Ohtani to sign with the Dodgers.
Ashley, in a video shared on social media, expressed sheer disbelief as the silver luxury car was delivered to her doorstep. The video captures the moment when she is informed, “It’s yours. From Shohei. He wanted to gift you a Porsche. I swear.”
The viral #Ohtake17 campaign gained traction as Ashley humorously offered to make significant concessions, including changing her seven-month-old child’s name from Kai to ShoKai and persuading her husband to relinquish his No. 17 jersey – the same number Ohtani had worn during his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels.
To the delight of Dodgers fans, Ohtani eventually signed an unprecedented $700 million, 10-year deal with the team. As a part of this deal, Joe Kelly graciously agreed to change his uniform number from 17 to 99, paving the way for Ohtani to continue wearing his preferred number.
Expressing gratitude for the jersey number switch, Ohtani thanked Kelly for the gesture. In response, Kelly remarked, “I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody. If Shohei keeps performing, he’ll be a future Hall of Famer, and I’ll be able to have my number retired. That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame.”
This heartwarming story exemplifies the camaraderie and goodwill among teammates, showcasing the generosity and sportsmanship that transcend the boundaries of the game.
