Fans can’t believe who is now wearing Shohei Ohtani’s number for Angels
Apr 15, 2020; Anaheim, California, USA; General overall view of the Los Angeles Angels logo at Angel Stadium of Anaheim amid the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY NETWORK
Shohei Ohtani is no longer the face of the Los Angeles Angels, but his jersey number remains in use. Fans just can’t believe which player is using it.
The Angels signed Hunter Dozier to a minor league contract last month, and the infielder has chosen to wear No. 17 in spring training. Most fans had the same reaction to seeing Ohtani’s old number on Dozier, who was DFA’ed and then released by the Kansas City Royals early last season.
There’s no way they gave Shohei’s number to HUNTER DOZIER 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/DMg5KsaCBa
— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) February 25, 2024
Ohtani is considered by many to be the best player in baseball. It is even more ironic to see Dozier wearing Ohtani’s old number when you consider that Dozier has been the worst player in MLB since 2021 by one metric — wins above replacement (WAR).
Btw Hunter has a -3.8-WAR since 2021, the worst in baseball. The joke is #17 went from the best player in baseball, to the worst. I’m not saying retire the jersey pic.twitter.com/qknrsQt5SY
— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) February 25, 2024
Obviously, Ohtani’s jersey number was up for grabs as soon as he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. We highly doubt Dozier took it because he wanted to be compared to Ohtani, but it definitely looks wrong on him.
Dozier is a career .238 hitter. He batted .183 in 29 games for Kansas City before they moved on from him last year.