The No. 17 is now a gift that keeps on giving within the Dodgers organization.
As Los Angeles pursued free agent two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Joe Kelly expressed his willingness to give up No. 17 to Ohtani. And in the spirit of giving, Kelly's wife, Ashley, launched a hilarious #Ohtake17 campaign on social media to aid in the efforts.
Now that the ink has dried on Ohtani's record-breaking $700 million contract, he's paying it forward by keeping the giving spirit alive.
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Ahead of the Christmas holiday, Ohtani gifted a brand-new Porsche to the Kelly home, a present addressed to the family's matriarch for her social media efforts.
"It's yours … from Shohei. He wanted to gift you a Porsche," is overheard as an incredulous Ashley Kelly takes a glimpse at her new luxury vehicle. Still in visible disbelief, the video cuts off as she begins to verbally express her shock.
“It’s yours…from Shohei.”
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 24, 2023
Shohei gifted Joe Kelly’s wife Ashley with a new car for her Ohtake17 campaign. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Vsb3PqMthF
The video, which was originally posted to Ashley Kelly's Instagram, included a caption thanking Ohtani for "one of the coolest days of her life."
The gift likely concludes a three-part saga of the #Ohtake17 campaign which included Ashley Kelly's pitch to pass all of the family's custom No. 17 gear to Ohtani followed by a hilarious reaction video to the signing, in which she also confirmed her husband's switch to No. 99.
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During Ohtani's free agency, Joe Kelly made it clear that he would be willing to part ways with his number, providing a rationale that was both reasonable and humorous.
“I wasn’t going to give it up to just anybody,” said Kelly. “If Shohei keeps performing, he’ll be a future Hall of Famer and I’ll be able to have my number retired. That’s the closest I’ll get to the Hall of Fame.”
Kelly added that "there's a list" of things he wanted in return for the switch but didn't explicitly state what that might entail. Perhaps one part of that list was a Porsche for his wife.
