After plenty of hype, MLB star Shohei Ohtani finally reveals his dog’s name is ‘Decoy’

While the hype train waiting to know what team MLB star Shohei Ohtani would sign with was huge – The hype behind the wait to know what Ohtani’s dog name was pretty much as massive. Maybe the pup’s name is not $700 million massive, but the team here at Celebrity Pets is a bit biased toward pet-centric news.

We now know Ohtani named his dog “Dekopin,” which in Japanese means “to poke someone in the forehead.” Ohtani added that his American baseball fans can just call him “Decoy,” to save trying to pronounce it. In case you’re wondering, this adorable pup’s breed is a Dutch Kooikerhondje, which the American Kennel Club describes as “lively, agile, self-confident, good-natured and alert,” which could easily be a short description of his fur dad.

Prior to the announcement above, fans waited to hear if Shotime would sign with the Toronto Blue Jays or the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was also awarded his second American League MVP award. Ohtani’s reaction video is when his dog made his international debut. Fans immediately noticed their affectionate relationship on display, complete with a cute high-five to celebrate.

The rumor was Ohtani gave the dog a baseball-related name… With the star pitcher expected to sign with either the Blue Jays or Dodgers, many put their bets down on the name being Dodger. But after keeping us in suspense, the nickname “Decoy” is quite fitting, intentional or not. A reply to the Tweet above from @KidC said, “Also his name for the Blue Jays.” You can watch the video costarring Decoy below.

And for a celebrity dog that doesn’t just sit on the bench: Move over bat boys, Ripken the Bat Dog fetches baseball bats professionally.