Not Calling Fan Interference On This Shohei Ohtani "Homer" Is Hilarious

Robert Gauthier. Getty Images.

In case you were unaware, Major League Baseball kicked off the start of its season over the last two days over in Tokyo with the Dodgers and Cubs squaring off. Both games were fairly forgettable, but nevertheless we have baseball. Of course we had controversy because when do we not with this game? 

Shohei Ohtani was the main draw in these games in front of his home country. Yes Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and rookie sensation Roki Sasaki were also featured, but Shohei moves all of the needles. 

In the 5th inning Ohtani blasted one to right center and sent the fans into pandemonium. What a moment for the home country superstar. 

But you notice something a little funky with that one? Despite Joe Davis putting that ball on the moon with his call, it actually barely got out. 

On second, third, and fourth look it didn't get out at all. That's some good ol' fashioned fan interference that would make Jeffrey Maier proud. I mean this isn't close. As black and white as fan interference gets if I can be Frank. 

I would have paid to see the replay control room in Japan review this. If that's Andy Pages he's standing on second with no argument whatsoever. They might not have even had to go to replay. But for Shohei in Japan? If they could count it as two homers they would have. In a perfect world the feed would have cut out with the ball still in the air and just focused on him rounding the bases. So obvious they just wanted Ohtani to have his moment in Japan and get that homer on the board. Would have been great if it was a tie game in the 9th inning or something, but adding a solo shot to a 5-2 lead doesn't exactly create an uproar from fans. 

P.S. Tough drop from the fan. Not sure what a regular season Ohtani home run ball goes for, but snagging one in the Tokyo games would have probably gotten them a pretty penny. Gonna lose some sleep over that one.