LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Shohei Ohtani smashed his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers to help seal a series sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday.
The Japanese superstar bludgeoned a 430-foot fly ball to right center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to fire the Dodgers into a 5-3 lead.
Dodger Stadium fans rose to their feet in applause as Ohtani rounded the bases following his first home run since joining the Dodgers in a record-breaking $700-million deal last December.
Ohtani was showered with a blizzard of sunflower seeds from team-mate Teoscar Hernandez as he returned to the Dodgers dug-out after the solo shot.
Ohtani had registered eight hits in his previous eight regular season starts for the Dodgers but had been left frustrated in his bid to break his home-run drought.
The 29-year-old ace regarded as the most talented all-round baseball player since Babe Ruth bided his time against Giants pitcher Taylor Rogers before swatting his first homer.
“I’ve just been working on making sure I can swing the way I want to without rushing things,” Ohtani said through a translator after the Dodgers victory.
“I really wanted to put up results, but I’m really glad I was able to get a home run today.”
“Honestly, I’m very relieved that I was able to hit my first homer. It’s been a while and my swing hasn’t been great, so just very relieved overall.”
Ohtani revealed that he had been given a pep talk by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts earlier Wednesday which had given him confidence.
“He told me, ‘Just be yourself and don’t try to do too much,’” Ohtani said.
“It really helped me a lot, just being able to calm myself down and hopefully I’ll continue to do that.”
A female fan who caught Ohtani’s first home run ball for the Dodgers was promptly surrounded by security guards and escorted to safety.
Significant home run baseballs can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars — and sometimes millions — at auction if fans choose to keep them rather than hand them back to the club in question.
Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from the 1998 season went under the hammer for $3 million.
Ohtani revealed afterwards however that he had already secured the ball back from the fan in exchange for one of his bats, two caps and another baseball.
“I was able to talk to the fan and get it back,” Ohtani said.
“Obviously, it’s a very special ball and I’m grateful that I’ve got it back.”
Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Ohtani joined the Dodgers in December in a blockbuster move from the Los Angeles Angels. His contract is the most lucrative in North American professional sport.
Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers had begun under a cloud last month after revelations that his long-time interpreter had stolen millions of dollars from him to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker.
