A Los Angeles Dodgers bat boy might be in need of a raise ... as the guy snagged a baseball just before it hit the team's biggest superstar -- Shohei Ohtani!!!
Check out the crazy video ... just as Shohei was waiting to hit the on-deck circle during Los Angeles' game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday evening, a baseball came flying into the dugout.
While Ohtani and others had the normal reaction to duck ... the bat boy stood in front of the designated hitter, and caught the bullet of a baseball with his bare hands before it did some serious damage.