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LOS ANGELES -- The first person Shohei Ohtani encountered on his way to the dugout was Teoscar Hernandez, who, amid so much newness and so much turmoil, has become quite possibly his best friend on the team. Hernandez, the Los Angeles Dodgers' affable corner outfielder, stood near the railing and bestowed Ohtani with the offering that awaits every teammate who homers: a face full of sunflower seeds.
Ohtani had finally broken through.
The past four months had seen him face the pressure of a $700 million contract, the transition to a new organization and, most shockingly, the uneasiness of a betting scandal that led to the firing of his longtime interpreter and closest confidant, Ippei Mizuhara.