Shohei Ohtani reveals what everyone wants to know: His dog’s name

The name of Shohei Ohtani’s dog is a Japanese name, Dekopin. But his American name is Decoy, the two-way star revealed at his introductory news conference with the Dodgers on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

“He’s named Dekopin. For people here, I think the pronunciation is difficult,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “His original name was Decoy. So when I explain it to people here, I introduce him as Decoy because it’s easier.”

In Japanese, “dekopin” is the term used to describe a light or playful flick of the finger on someone’s forehead.

Dekopin was introduced to the public when Ohtani was recognized as the American League most valuable player on MLB Network last month. The pup lay calmly on a couch next to Ohtani as MLB anchors interviewed award finalists. When Ohtani was officially named the MVP, he gave Dekopin a high five.

Since then, Decoy has been endearingly nicknamed Most Valuable Pup by those around baseball.

Ohtani won his second AL MVP on Nov. 16, becoming the only player to win the award by unanimous vote twice. He first won the award after the 2021 season.

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Ohtani finished the 2023 season on the mound with a 10-5 record, 3.14 earned run average, a .184 opponent batting average and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts (132 innings pitched). In 13 of those starts, he gave up one earned run or fewer.

At the plate, Ohtani led the American League with 44 home runs, a .412 on-base percentage and 78 extra-base hits, while leading the majors with a .654 slugging percentage and a 1.066 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He also stole 20 bases.

Ohtani is not expected to pitch again until 2025 after having his second Tommy John surgery in September.

Staff writer Dylan Hernández contributed to this report.