Most Valuable Pup: Shohei Ohtani's dog has his MVP moment with adorable first pitch

Five months ago, Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani was embroiled in a gambling scandal involving his former longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March after it was reported that he allegedly stole $17M from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts, and Ohtani was able to move on from the drama swiftly.

While the two-time AL MVP continues his seemingly inevitable push towards his first MVP in the National League, he's had a new best friend along for the entire ride — his one-year-old Dutch Kooikerhondje, Decoy.

On Ohtani's (and Decoy's) bobblehead night on Wednesday, the young pup had his very own MVP moment on the mound at Dodger Stadium.

Scores of fans lined up outside the ballpark hours ahead of the showdown with the Baltimore Orioles, and once the game started, Ohtani came through in his first at-bat.

When the four-time All-Star became a free agent over the winter, speculation regarding where he'd land was rampant.

Rumors surrounding Ohtani's new dog's name also flooded social media.

Eventually, on Dec. 11, the longtime member of the Los Angeles Angels signed a 10-year, $700M deal with the Dodgers, and three days later, he revealed his furry friend's name to the world.

According to a report by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic , Ohtani had been training Decoy to "throw out" the first pitch for "close to three weeks."

"It's a really special night," Ohtani said, per the report. "I hope to buy some special snack for him."

Decoy certainly proved that he's a very good boy on Wednesday night.