MLB fans who spent the offseason trying to forget the fact that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers won't be able to hide from that reality much longer.
On Tuesday, Ohtani made his Dodgers debut during Spring Training and blasted an opposite-field home run.
It was vintage Ohtani, something for Dodgers fans to lose their minds over. For rival MLB fans, it was an occasion to sigh and grumble.
THE SHO IS HERE. pic.twitter.com/dXJCEjApsN
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 27, 2024
MLB Twitter wasn't surprised to see Ohtani hit a moon shot. That doesn't make it any easier to swallow the idea that the best player of a generation is suddenly in Dodger Blue.
MLB Twitter goes through stages of grief after Shohei Ohtani debut home run
Seeing Ohtani on the Dodgers 😒 @Angels pic.twitter.com/EYCekCcWeG
— Coach B (@braandontmc) February 27, 2024
All that money the Dodgers paid Ohtani, he should've hit that ball to another state. But go off Dodgers pic.twitter.com/TvsF9613Tn
— 👑 (@ImJustRachelle) February 27, 2024
— Tom Whittaker (@Whittaker18Tom) February 27, 2024
This is going to be so annoying how good he is and much the Dodgers do not deserve this https://t.co/x5UoD3E0kM
— Lewismd (@jusfocus) February 27, 2024
my "ohtani is washed" narratives crumbling after he remembers that he's shohei ohtani pic.twitter.com/W7tu7p9l7o
— Atom_Heart_Mother (@Atom_M0ther) February 27, 2024
Trying to figure out how I root for Shohei's success while rooting for the Dodger's downfall! Tough time to be a Giants/Shohei fan! 🤔😭 https://t.co/Vt9AnCGIA9
— Dominique Bates-Smith (@dabates94) February 27, 2024
Shohei Ohtani has to homer every 16 hours or the contract isn’t worth it.
— Jason Smith (@howaboutafresca) February 27, 2024
Rival fans were doing all sorts of grieving after Ohtani's home run, from anger to denial to bargaining. Acceptance will be hard to come by.
As an Angels fan myself, this is painful, especially because it didn't have to be this way. If Arte Moreno had used one ounce of sense, Ohtani would still be an Angel.
There isn't a fiber of my being that enjoys seeing Ohtani in that uniform, hitting oppo tacos for the enemy. If a Spring Training home run is this level of torture, what will it feel like when Opening Day rolls around and he's doing it for real life?
Ohtani's talent is on a different stratosphere from his peers. And he's not even completely healthy. He's still recovering from surgery to repair his elbow. So while he can go out there and hit, he's not going to be showing off his stuff on the mound any time soon. For a Dodger hater, that's some consolation.