Young girl details unpleasant encounter with Shohei Ohtani on live ESPN broadcast

One young fan on Sunday put Shohei Ohtani on blast during the Little League Classic at Bowman Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star was not even in action for the contest between the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners. But he somehow became a topic of conversation.

During Julio Rodriguez’s at-bat in the top of the fourth inning, the ESPN broadcast interviewed an Aussie little leaguer to share her encounter with Ohtani from a few years back. Young Monica Arcuri revealed how the encounter made her dislike the Japanese superstar.

“I went to L.A. in 2023 to watch the [Los Angeles Angels] game in which Shohei Ohtani was still an Angel,” Arcuri said. “… Ohtani was batting, and he hit a home run into an area where the fans couldn’t go. This guy got the ball and gave it to my brother.

“The next day, we went to the VIP box at the front, and I asked for his signature. But all he gave me was a side-eye and not a nice glance, so after that, I’ve never liked him ever since. He’s not really humble. Not my style.”

Given Ohtani’s place as the sport’s biggest draw, ESPN producers must have been panicking behind the scenes as Arcuri’s story developed.

What was supposed to be a fluff piece on a fan nabbing an Ohtani home run ball turned into an on-air rant about not getting his autograph.

The story also highlighted the relationship between athletes and their fans. There’s an expectation that sports icons should always be “on” for their fans, given that their fame and fortune come from fan support.

But at the same time, athletes are humans too. Not everyone is comfortable with the spotlight always on them, which means that chance encounters like Arcuri’s may not always be as ideal as they should be.

Ohtani could have been headed to a bullpen session, or perhaps he was reviewing the team’s scouting report in his head. Ohtani could have been having a premonition about the triple play he’d hit into two years later. Who knows?