Long lines snaked out from Dodger Stadium entrances a good three hours before Thursday night’s game, and most of the 53,527 fans in attendance were in their seats well before first pitch, a rarity for the notoriously late-arriving Chavez Ravine crowds.
The draw? A Shohei Ohtani bobblehead doll, the two-way star’s first as a Dodger since signing a 10-year, $700-million deal in December, that was given to the first 40,000 fans through the turnstiles.
“It’s great for Shohei, it’s good for the Dodgers,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game against the Cincinnati Reds. “I mean, it’s gonna be a hot-ticket item for fans lucky enough to grab one of those.