People and Their Animals Sports
Baseball · Los Angeles
Shohei Ohtani and Decoy
Shohei Ohtani’s dog first appeared beside him during an MVP announcement. A few weeks later, baseball fans were still trying to figure out his name.
Decoy, also known by his Japanese name Dekopin, is Shohei Ohtani’s Kooikerhondje. He became famous before most people knew what to call him.
- Person
- Shohei Ohtani
- Animal
- Decoy, a Kooikerhondje also called Dekopin
- First seen
- November 2023, beside Ohtani on an MVP broadcast
- Place
- Los Angeles, after a month as an unnamed free-agent dog
- Known for
- A ceremonial first pitch, a World Series parade, and a children’s book
For a while, nobody knew his name
Ohtani didn’t immediately tell anyone about the dog. In November 2023, when he learned that he’d unanimously won the American League MVP award for the second time, a small brown-and-white dog was sitting beside him. Ohtani gave him a high five, and then the internet wanted to know who he was.
That was enough to turn the dog’s identity into a minor baseball mystery, especially because Ohtani was a free agent at the time. Fans even wondered whether the name might somehow reveal which team he was planning to join.
A month later, after signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani finally introduced him. His Japanese name was Dekopin, a word for flicking someone on the forehead. Ohtani thought that might be difficult for Americans to pronounce, so he suggested Decoy instead.
Decoy learned to throw a first pitch
In August 2024, the Dodgers held a bobblehead night featuring Ohtani and Decoy. So Decoy got another job. For about three weeks beforehand, Ohtani trained him for the ceremonial first pitch. Decoy had to wait alone on the pitcher’s mound while Ohtani went behind home plate, then pick up the baseball and run it to him.
They even rehearsed at Dodger Stadium. On the night, Decoy waited for Ohtani’s signal, grabbed the ball, and ran from the mound to home plate. The two finished with a high five. Then Ohtani hit a home run in his first at-bat.
He went to the World Series parade
When the Dodgers won the 2024 World Series, Decoy joined the celebration. He rode through Los Angeles in Ohtani’s arms during the championship parade, surrounded by players, families, and hundreds of thousands of fans.
By then, the dog who had anonymously appeared on an MVP broadcast a year earlier had become one of the team’s most recognizable supporting characters. His face appeared on merchandise, inside Ohtani’s suit jacket, and on custom cleats. The pair from the night Ohtani reached 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, with Decoy on them, was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Then Ohtani wrote him a book
In 2026, Decoy became the star of a children’s book. Ohtani co-wrote Decoy Saves Opening Day with Michael Blank, a fictional adventure inspired by their real first-pitch routine. In the story, Decoy is supposed to deliver the opening pitch but realizes he’s left his lucky baseball at home. Ohtani hoped the book would support animal rescue organizations.
Decoy also received another baseball honor that year. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America gave him its first Most Valuable Dog award.
He still shows up for the big moments
Decoy has continued appearing alongside Ohtani as his baseball career has grown. There have been MVP celebrations, red carpets, championship festivities, and plenty of high fives. Ohtani has worn his face on his clothes and shoes, put him on a bobblehead, and turned one of their routines into a book.
Decoy started out as the unidentified dog sitting next to Shohei Ohtani on television. He has become part of the baseball story himself.
