Shohei Ohtani is melting many baseball fans’ hearts after the Los Angeles Dodgers shared a video of him and fellow Japanese newcomer Yoshinobu Yamamoto being taught Spanish greetings by Dominican outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
About the video: The short, 20-second clip, uploaded to X and Instagram on Wednesday, shows a friendly Ohtani with teammate Hernandez as he repeats what the Dominican player says in greeting their fans in Spanish.
“Buenos dias fanaticos (Good morning, fans),” a smiling Ohtani says in the video. After Ohtani, Hernandez turns his attention to Yamamoto, who also repeats, “Buenos días.”
Melting hearts online: Several baseball fans found the interaction wholesome, with one on X sharing their love to the players in Spanish, writing, “Good morning Teo, Sho and Yama. I love you very much.”
“We will almost have Ohtani and Yamamoto speaking more Spanish than English itself,” another fan commented in Spanish.
Another also wrote in Spanish, “Nice interaction with the new Japanese teammates,” before adding, “they start to master Spanish and then they even sing like La Orquesta de la Luz.” The group mentioned, Orquesta de la Luz, is a Japanese salsa band who performs in Spanish.
Catching up: The Dodgers are currently in Camelback Ranch in Phoenix for their spring training, with Ohtani taking his time as a batter on the plate and not pushing himself as he recovers from his elbow surgery in late September 2023.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani is looking to make 50 at-bats during their spring training, which the Japanese baseball superstar confirmed when speaking to reporters through his interpreter, Ippe Mizuhura, at his locker on Wednesday.
He will also sit out the Dodgers’ spring opener against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, the same team they will face at the opening series in March in South Korea.
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