Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has broken his silence on whether he will be attending his team's visit to the White House to celebrate their 2024 World Series success.
The MLB champions pulled off a remarkable 7-6 comeback win over the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the Series 4-1 back in October and, as is customary for the winner of a professional championship game, have been invited to the capital by President Donald Trump as a result.
The Carolina Panthers have already celebrated their NHL success from last year with the 78-year-old after visiting him back in February, while the Ohio State football team and the Philadelphia Eagles are next in line to make trips over to the White House following their individual triumphs in the College Football Playoff national championship and Super Bowl LIX, respectively.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers confirmed in a social media post that they would also be accepting Trump's invitation “in keeping with long-standing baseball tradition,” with a date already set for Monday, April 7. Due to the political controversy surrounding the president, however, doubts emerged over whether Ohtani would be joining his teammates.
Given the stark difference in politics between Trump and the State of California, it's also been noted that Dodgers fans are pushing back on the planned visit for their team, but it has now been confirmed by the Japanese designated hitter and pitcher himself that he plans to attend the ceremony in eight days' time.
According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Ohtani told media in his homeland that he would be joining his teammates on their visit to see President Trump at the White House. However, there are fears over what implications this may have on people back in Japan.
“Ohtani’s the one that has to be worried here,” Hernandez added. “There’s going to be a picture out there with Shohei Ohtani and Donald Trump and, as unfavorably as Trump is viewed right now, I have a feeling it’s going to look worse 20, 30 years from now.”
With Ohtani dubbed by many as the best player in the sport as well as the most popular in the game, his decisions are always firmly under the microscope. Having garnered millions of fans in both Japan and the United States, the choice to accept Trump's invitation will have two different meanings for certain demographics of his supporters.
The Dodgers' trip to the capital comes ahead of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals of the National League East. The visitors currently top the standings in the National League West with a 5-0 record in the early stages of the 2025 season, following victories over the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers.
