Dodgers Fans Flood Dodger Stadium for Shohei Ohtani Bobblehead Giveaway

Los Angeles Dodgers fans lined up hours before a game at Dodger Stadium to obtain a special bobblehead featuring Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy. The bobblehead commemorates Ohtani’s sensational year and his bond with Decoy, adding to the excitement surrounding his season. Ohtani's impressive stats bolster his team's prospects.

Baseball fans eager to get their hands on a bobblehead of Los Angeles slugger Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy began lining up more than seven hours before the giveaway game at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

The "Shohei & Decoy" figurine depicts a smiling Ohtani holding his one-year-old Dutch Kooikerhondje, who became a star in his own right when he was seated with the Japanese sensation upon learning he had won his second MVP award last year. Videos posted on social media showed an endless line of blue and white-clad Dodgers fans enduring hot conditions in the hopes of obtaining the prized bobblehead.

Fans began arriving around noon for the night game against the Baltimore Orioles, with the long lines even challenging Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to make it into the stadium. "I'm just happy that I made it," he joked. "It's unbelievable. I don't know if it was Shohei or Decoy or a combo, but there's a high demand for this dang bobblehead. It took me forever to get inside Dodger Stadium. If you plan on coming, you better have already left."

Ohtani, 30, has delivered excellently for the Dodgers since being acquired in the offseason on a record 10-year, $700 million contract. The two-way player is not pitching this year as he recovers from offseason elbow surgery, but as a designated hitter, he has 41 home runs and stolen 40 bases, becoming the sixth member of Major League Baseball's coveted 40-40 club last week. He also boasts a .294 batting average for the NL West-leading Dodgers and is the frontrunner to secure his third MVP award in a season when Dodgers fans are yearning for a World Series triumph.

(With inputs from agencies.)