See the newly unveiled Shohei Ohtani mural in Los Angeles
Dodgers' superstar Shoehei Ohtani is back in the spotlight, this time on the side of a building in Little Tokyo.
Just one day before the team's home opener, fans flocked to see the official unveiling of a massive mural in honor of Ohtani.
The artwork was created by Boyle Heights artist Robert Vargas. The mural is double feature showing Ohtani in his new Dodger uniform swinging a bat and pitching. The 150 feet tall mural is titled "LA Rising". It is localted on the side of the Miyako Hotel on First St.
Vargas was still putting the finishing touches on the work early Wednesday, but a large blue tarp covering the side of the building was lowered around noon to show the complete work. Vargas said the mural was drawn freehand, with no stencils or gridwork.
Vargas began painting the mural on March 8. He previously said recent rain made finishing the mural more challenging.
"There was a desire to put something here on this wall that represents Los Angeles," said Tamlyn Tomita, an actress. "What better way than to put on the new Dodger superstar Shoehei Ohtani."
The artist has a number of murals locally, as well as internationally. In 2022, the city of Los Angeles dedicated the intersection of Pennsylvania and Boyle avenues in Boyle Heights as "Robert Vargas Square."
Wednesday's unveiling comes two days after Ohtani spoke publicly for the first time following the firing of his long-time interpreter Ippei Mizuhara by the Dodgers amid gambling allegations.
During his Monday news conference, Ohtani vehemently denied agreeing to pay off Mizuhara's gambling debt and betting on baseball or any other sports.
Major League Baseball opened a formal investigation after Mizuhara was fired. The interpreter is accused of stealing at least $4.5 million from Ohtani's personal bank account. Mizuhara had worked as Ohtani's interpreter since 2017.
In addition to the internal investigation by the MLB, the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles launched probes into the allegations. The federal organizations said they had no comment on the matter.