U.S. President Donald Trump met Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani on the 7th (local time) and said, "He looks like a movie star."
On this day, President Trump invited the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2024 MLB World Series champions, to the White House for a celebration.
At this event, President Trump faced Shohei, who set the all-time record for a single season '50-50' (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases) for the first time in Major League history. While shaking hands with the Dodgers players, President Trump stood before Shohei and praised, "You look like a movie star." Shohei was the National League MVP last year.
He also shook hands with Korean-American Tommy Hyunsoo Edman, whom he referred to as the "Most Valuable Player (MVP)" of the series (National League Championship Series, NLCS) and who played for the Korean national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Edman recorded 11 hits in 27 at-bats (batting average 0.407), 1 home run, 11 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.023 in the 6 games of the NLCS against the New York Mets last postseason, earning the series MVP.
President Trump praised Edman, noting he has "a lot of talent" for winning the series MVP, and stated, "He had a .470 batting average and 11 RBIs in the 6 games (ALCS). That's a fine performance, isn’t it?"
The Dodgers visited the White House while in Washington, D.C., for a 3-game series against the Washington Nationals from the 7th to the 9th.
President Trump greeted outfielder Mookie Betts, who had an opportunity to visit the White House as a member of the 2018 MLB champion Boston Red Sox during Trump’s first term but boycotted the visit in protest of Trump's racist remarks.
Additionally, President Trump encouraged manager Dave Roberts, who had a tense relationship after publicly criticizing the Dodgers' pitching decisions during the 2018 World Series, with a handshake.
Roberts, who was upset by Trump's criticism in 2018, stated regarding a question of whether he would visit the White House if the Dodgers won the World Series, "Just going to Washington for an away game is enough," but attended the event this day.