MLB World Reacts to Controversial Shohei Ohtani Home Run

The Los Angeles Dodgers went 2-0 in the Tokyo series over their National League rival, the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers start the season on the right foot and will now return to the States to kick off the rest of their 2025 season.

Their domestic Opening Day will be on March 27 against the Detroit Tigers, and they will do their best to defend their World Series crown. While the Dodgers went to Japan and took care of business, it didn’t come without any controversy surrounding the Dodgers’ two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Now, this controversy is nothing like the one we saw last year in Korea, but controversy nonetheless. This one comes due to his first home run of the season.

Ohtani’s first home run came in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game, with the Dodgers leading 5-2. Ohtani faced Cubs reliever Nate Pearson and crushed a 99.1 mph fastball to deep center. The ball struck the wall near the yellow home-run marker, creating some uncertainty about whether it had cleared the fence.

Take a look for yourself.

An umpire signaled a home run as Ohtani was running second base. The play was reviewed, and the call stood; it was a home run. While that was the call, many fans didn’t think that was the case.

Here is MLB’s official definition of spectator interference.

“In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play — even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there.”

Ultimately, the umpires likely ruled that the ball was on its way over the fence before the fan made contact. Given the height of the outfield wall, the fan’s interference didn’t obstruct Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong from making a play, eliminating any chance of Ohtani being called out.

The decision came down to whether Ohtani would be awarded a double or a home run. In the end, the umpires allowed him to round the bases.

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