Shohei Ohtani blasted his first home run of the season in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, and some people feel he benefitted from a little home cooking from the umpiring crew.
Ohtani gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning of Game 2 of the Tokyo Series in Japan. The ball bounced off a fan’s hands and into the field of play, but the call on the field was that it was a home run.
The umpiring crew reviewed the play to determine whether there was fan interference. While it looked like a fan may have reached over the wall, the call on the field stood.
Do you agree with the home run call?#TokyoSeries pic.twitter.com/7oSjUdWodx
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 19, 2025
Naturally, many people believed Ohtani and the Dodgers received a favorable call because the game was held in Tokyo.
Are we not calling fan interference there because it was in Japan, it's Ohtani, it's the Dodgers, or all of the above?
— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) March 19, 2025
Of course they give the Dodgers a HR when it’s obvious fan interference and a double. Completely rigged for Dodgers and Ohtani
— RMacs (@PhillyHotspur) March 19, 2025
#ShoheiOhtani hits HR #1 of the season#Cubs challenged it was fan interference, NO WAY they overturn a Ohtani HR in Tokyo!
— Tim Cates (@timcates) March 19, 2025
While it did look like the fan reached over, it was hard to tell whether the ball would have cleared the wall had it not been touched. It makes sense that the call on the field stood. Of course, you could make the argument that Ohtani received a favorable initial call.
Obviously, Ohtani is the biggest reason Major League Baseball sent the Dodgers to Japan for the Tokyo Series. Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki also made his MLB debut in Wednesday’s game and blew fans away with his first few pitches.
There is no question the Dodgers’ are Japan’s favorite team. Having Ohtani blast a home run in Tokyo is a great storyline for MLB, though that does not necessarily mean the umpiring crew was influenced.
