Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Among 6 Players Wearing Special Patch for 2025 MLB Season

Maren Angus-Coombs | Mar 18, 2025

Mar 15, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) bats against the Yomiuri Giants during the first inning at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Six players have a golden glow about this season including Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Rather than sporting the normal Major League Baseball patch on the back of his jersey, Ohtani's is gold thanks to a collaboration with MLB, Topps, Fanatics, and Nike.

It didn't take much for MLB to decide which six players would wear the patch. They are all last year's award winners: MVPs Ohtani and Aaron Judge, Cy Young recipients Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal, and Rookie of the Year honorees Paul Skenes and Luis Gil.

"The Gold MLB Logo Patch promotion follows the Debut Patch initiative that launched at the beginning of the 2023 season," writes Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com. "Those patches, which adorn a player's jersey during his MLB debut, are also authenticated by MLB and utilized in Topps trading cards."

Ohtani was the first to wear his new patch when the Dodgers took on the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.

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"These six players will wear the emblem on the back of their jerseys throughout 2025," added Harrigan. "Following the season, 10 authenticated game-worn patches from each player will be transformed into exclusive autographed Logoman trading cards. The gold patches will also appear on retail versions of each player’s jersey."

Starting the Dodgers' season-opener as the designated hitter, Ohtani was visibly emotional in the moments leading up to first pitch which caught manager Dave Roberts off-guard.

Shohei Ohtani provides the first hit for the @Dodgers in 2025 💪 #TokyoSeries pic.twitter.com/BFz50E5EeI

— MLB (@MLB) March 18, 2025

"I don't think I've ever seen Shohei nervous," Roberts said. "One thing I did notice is how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. That was really something that was very telling, how emotional he was."

Ohtani was able to let go of any nerves he had after his first two at-bats. He grounded out and lined out to second base.

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It was his third trip to the plate in the fifth inning that sparking a big inning for the Dodgers. Ohtani singled after Andy Pages walked and eventually came around to score.

"It's been a while that I felt actually this nervous playing a game," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "In that sense, I felt like I needed the first couple at-bats, I needed some time to adjust. I'm glad that I was able to make the adjustments in the later part of the game."

Ohtani added a double in the ninth, finishing the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.