Fans bring all sort of items when attending a game at Dodger Stadium, to show their support and to help spur the team to victory.
For the annual Japanese Heritage Night on April 27, a special treasure made it to the game as a tribute to a dedicated Dodgers fan.
“He was obsessed with Ohtani and the Dodgers, and his wish was to be rich,” said Kristen of her late grandfather, Tatsuo Nishi. Clad in her Dodgers cap and accompanied by pal Brendan (last names not given), she brought along Grandfather’s daruma, a traditional Japanese Buddhist doll often associated with good fortune.
Nishi, a native of Kagoshima and resident of Camarillo, passed away last year. In keeping with custom, his daruma has one eye colored in, with the other to be inked once his dream comes true.
Kristen said Nishi’s allegiance to the Dodgers didn’t wane when Ohtani first joined MLB as a member of the Angels, but he made arrangements to follow both teams.
“He had two TVs at home and would often have them both on at the same time, trying to follow both games,” she explained.
Some of Nishi’s luck might well have rubbed off on the Dodgers, who staged a dramatic walk-off 5-4 victory over the Miami Marlins in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the sell-out crowd home happy.
– Mikey Hirano Culross