Shohei Ohtani has given a brand new Porsche to Ashley Kelly, the wife of his Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly, after she campaigned to bring him across Los Angeles from the Angels. The Japanese superstar recently signed the richest contract in sports history, sealing a $700million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers. Ohtani had been the MLB’s most coveted player ahead of his departure from the Angels during this off-season.
The Dodgers won the race to his signature, with Ashley Kelly leading a viral campaign that involved offering her husband’s No 17 jersey. She even re-christened their seven-month old son, jokingly changing his name from Kai to ShoKai.
“It’s yours…from Shohei.”
Shohei gifted Joe Kelly’s wife Ashley with a new car for her Ohtake17 campaign. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Vsb3PqMthF
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 24, 2023
To say thank you, Ohtani gave her a lavish Christmas gift. In a video posted on social media, Ashley is seen looking out of her front door after a Porsche appeared on the street. She was shocked when told it was a gift from the Dodgers’ new star. ‘It’s yours, from Shohei,’ Kelly was told. ‘He wanted to gift you a Porsche.’
As part of her #Ohtake17 campaign, Kelly showed off the vast array of Dodgers #17 apparel she owned and explained how Ohtani and his family could adapt it for their own use. Kelly was recently asked about surrendering the number he had worn for three seasons. ‘I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody,’ he told reporters. ‘If Shohei keeps performing, he’ll be a future Hall of Famer and I’ll be able to have my number retired. That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame.’ When asked what he wanted in return, Kelly added: ‘Oh there’s a list, but no comment.’
