Shohei Ohtani & His Dog Decoy Share Adorable Moment After 2025 MVP Announcement

Beloved pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrated the news of being named the National League's Most Valuable Player for 2025 in an adorable way. 

People magazine reported that a clip was shared on social media that showed the Dodgers’ pitcher’s wife sitting between him and their beloved dog, Decoy. The moment that Ohtani found out that he now has the title of the 2025 Most Valuable Player, he reached over to his wife and gave his pup a kiss on the cheek. 

Ohtani’s reaction shouldn’t surprise his fans, as his furry friend is often by his side. In fact, there’s no doubt that Dodger enthusiasts will remember that Decoy“threw out” the first pitch for an August 2024 game last season. Shohei carried his canine companion onto the pitching mound, much to the delight of the spectators. Once on the mound, Decoy grabbed the baseball that had been placed next to him and ran to home base. After such an incredible pitch, Decoy and a smiling Shohei celebrated by high-fiving. 

Some fans of the dog may not be aware that Decoy’s given name is Dekopin. 

“So his name is Dekopin. That’s a Japanese name. I figured that it would be hard for American people to pronounce it, so he has an American name and it’s Decoy,” said Shohei during a December 2023 interview with MLB.com.

According to Kyodo News, Dekopin is “the Japanese word for flicking someone's forehead.”