Shohei Ohtani GIFTS luxurious Porsche car to Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly’s wife after pitcher gives up No. 17 jersey

Shohei Ohtani has gifted Joe Kelly's wife Ashley a Porsche car for her efforts in trying to recruit him to the LA Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani GIFTS luxurious Porsche car to Dodgers teammate Joe Kelly’s wife after pitcher gives up No. 17 jersey

Joe Kelly (L)and Shohei Ohtani (R)[Image via LA Times/Imago]

It’s officially Christmas time. At a time when people receive presents and gifts from their loved ones, it seems new Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is already getting close to Joe Kelly and his family. The Japanese star has now gifted a luxurious Porsche car to Kelly’s wife after the pitcher gave up his “No.17” number.

Ohtani has been the talk of the town since he signed a massive deal with the Dodgers. The $700 million contract is reported to be the largest in US sporting history. After joining the Dodgers from their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, fans were speculating whether Ohtani would get to wear the number 17 jersey as Kelly owned it at that time.

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The Dodgers pitcher and his wife Ashley were more than happy to see him sign for the Dodgers. Kelly’s wife had been going on an online campaign of “#OhTake17” while jokingly trying to recruit the two-way phenom. She also mentioned that she would have her husband give up the No. 17 if he signed with them.

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Their wish came true and Ohtani penned down a deal with the Dodgers. Kelly kept his word and gave up his number and chose number 99 which allowed the 2023 AL MVP to pick up the vacant number. In his gesture, Ohtani gifted Ashley Kelly a Porsche car. Check out the video below that shows her reaction to receiving the luxurious car.

Joe Kelly reveals hilarious reason for giving up number 17 to Shohei Ohtani

When players join other teams, the big question in the mind of everyone involved is what number they will choose. It might look normal to some, but the numbers the player represents also matter to many. Several fans were eager to see whether Shohei Ohtani would get his desired number.

Joe Kelly (L) and Shohei Ohtani (R) [Image via LA Times/Imago]

As Joe Kelly gave up his number 17, it was expected that Ohtani would pick this number. The Dodgers pitcher though had some hilarious motive behind it and claimed he would not have done this for just anybody.

I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody. 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.
Joe Kelly on giving up No.17 to Shohei Ohtani through The Associated Press.

This also comes after Kelly signed another one-year contract for $8 million to extend his stay with the Dodgers. He is now hoping Ohtani can keep on performing as he has done over the years as the two look forward to a huge season in 2024. The Dodgers meanwhile have also added Tyler Glasnow and another Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to their squad with the aim of ultimate glory in the upcoming seasons.

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