MLB fans laughed at the Angels for using a Shohei Ohtani body double on team photo day

Just when you thought the 2023 season couldn’t get any stranger for the Los Angeles Angels, they pulled off another bizarre stunt Tuesday.

You see, it was the team’s scheduled photo day. Such an event would necessitate having every member of the roster on hand and ready to smile (and pretend to be happy) together. But unfortunately, Shohei Ohtani — the face of the Angels and the face of baseball — wasn’t available for undisclosed reasons.

This did not stop the Angels. Rather than simply reschedule the photo day for another time like any rational-thinking professional sports team, The Athletic’s Sam Blum reports that L.A. found a body double to stand in for Ohtani. The team will then (likely) Photoshop his face in at a later date.

What are we doing here?

Today was Angels photo day. But Shohei Ohtani wasn’t available for it. So they used a body double, and will presumably photoshop him in. He was taken through a back exit by Angels PR. pic.twitter.com/5yFuDjLw4o

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) September 5, 2023

I have so many questions.

Did the Angels hold a wide casting call for 6-foot-4 Japanese men? Why was it so important to keep the photo day on schedule as to even require a body double? And who in their right mind thinks that presumable Photoshop will look good when Ohtani inevitably wears a Mets/Yankees/Dodgers uniform in the future?

At 10 games under .500 in September, the 2023 Angels season has been a comedy of errors. Ensuring “Ohtani” is part of their team photo with a body double might take the cake for the weirdest folly.