Umpire had cool gesture after Shohei Ohtani’s historic home run
An umpire may have been the unsung hero during Shohei Ohtani’s iconic moment earlier this week.
On Thursday, Ohtani became the founding member of the 50/50 club. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar became the first player in MLB history to record at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
In the 7th inning of the Dodgers’ contest against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani blasted a 1-2 curveball to the seats in left-center field to achieve the feat.
Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna was able to read the room.
Here's a detail from Ohtani's 50-50 moment that went largely unnoticed. pic.twitter.com/NpiMyF4THI
— Todd Munson (@themunson) September 20, 2024
The veteran umpire did everything possible to let Ohtani and the fans savor the moment.
Iassogna dusted what appeared to be a clean plate before casually chatting with the ball boy. Then he outright waved off a pitch clock violation to prevent the Dodgers from getting penalized for enjoying the milestone.
Umpires often draw a lot of flak when they make mistakes — and some mistakes this season have been egregious. But they also deserve credit where credit is due.
