Shohei Ohtani might, one day, enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey.
It seems like the most likely outcome.
However, what he did for the Los Angeles Angels can’t and won’t be forgotten.
He stayed with them for six seasons even though they rarely built competitive rosters around him and Mike Trout.
In those six years, he managed to win two AL MVP awards, in 2021 and 2023.
He popularized the No. 17 not only in Los Angeles, but also in Japan and the rest of the world.
Now, he is a member of the Dodgers and will keep his number, but in blue.
Someone, however, appears to have taken No. 17 in the Angels, never to look back.
“I asked Hunter Dozier last week about wearing No. 17 for the Angels immediately after Shohei Ohtani. Told him all the fans would already have his jersey. ‘There’s going to be a lot of 17s (at Angel Stadium),’ he joked. ‘Just don’t look at the last name. Look at the number,’” Angels insider Sam Blum tweeted, with Dozier’s quotes.
I asked Hunter Dozier last week about wearing No. 17 for the Angels immediately after Shohei Ohtani.
Told him all the fans would already have his jersey.
“There’s going to be a lot of 17s (at Angel Stadium),” he joked. “Just don’t look at the last name. Look at the number.”
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 27, 2024
Dozier even homered while rocking No. 17 on his back.
Angels fans got used to that sight over the last six seasons.
Ohtani, in just five months, homered 44 times.
Dozier is obviously no Ohtani, but he will try to at least make the roster and stay on it for the whole season.
His best campaign came under inflated offensive performance around the league due to the “juiced” ball in 2019: he hit 26 home runs and posted a .870 OPS, both career-highs.
After that, he hasn’t surpassed 16 dingers or a .736 OPS in a single season.
Dozier will have a lot to prove, but it appears he isn’t afraid of using Ohtani’s old number.
That alone shows personality.
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