Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Donates $500K to Los Angeles Wildfire Relief

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announced Thursday that he made a sizable donation to the L.A. wildfire relief efforts.

In a post on Instagram (h/t Fox 11's KJ Hiramoto), Ohtani pledged $500,000 and noted that the Dodgers and Fanatics are teaming up to sell "LA Strong" shirts with proceeds from those sales going to the relief efforts.

Ohtani wrote the post in Japanese, but Hiramoto translated part of it, which read: "Our hearts go out to all the firefighters who continue to fight for us during the fires in LA."

Minyvonne Burke and Liz Kreutz of NBC News reported Thursday that the wildfires are known to have killed at least 27 people, while destroying thousands of structures and forcing about 180,000 people to evacuate their homes in the Los Angeles area.

Ohtani, 30, signed a then-MLB record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 MLB season.

The deal included $680 million in deferred money, which will see the Dodgers pay Ohtani $68 million per year from 2034 through 2043, per Spotrac.

While Ohtani was a two-way star during his time with the Los Angeles Angels, he could not pitch last season due to an elbow injury, which relegated him to solely filling a designated hitter role.

Even though Ohtani didn't pitch or play the field, he still won the National League MVP Award, marking his second consecutive MVP and his third in four years.

The lefty-swinging slugger slashed .310/.390/.646 with an NL-leading 54 home runs, 130 RBI and 134 runs scored, plus a career-high 59 stolen bases.

Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more homers and steal 50 or more bases in the same season.

On top of that, Ohtani reached the playoffs for the first time in his career and helped the Dodgers win their second World Series title in the past five seasons.

Ohtani was already a star in the L.A. area from his time with the Angels, but by joining the Dodgers and winning a championship, he quickly became a Los Angeles sports icon.

Per Hiramoto, Ohtani's personal donation to the wildfire relief efforts is on top of the combined $8 million pledged by the local sports franchise collective of the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Sparks, LA Galaxy, LAFC and Angel City FC.