100-Year-Old Nagasaki Survivor Meets Shohei Ohtani

Before the Dodgers played the Colorado Rockies on April 18, pitcher Shohei Ohtani knelt down to meet one of his most devoted fans. Momoyo Nakamoto Kelley, 100 years old and a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, finally got to shake hands with her hero.

Kelley was 19 when the bomb fell on August 9, 1945. She later described the moment to reporters as "like the sky was on fire." She survived because she happened to be upwind from the explosion.

In the early 1950s, Kelley met her husband at an Air Force base in Japan and moved to the United States. She's been a baseball fan ever since, starting with Joe DiMaggio in the '50s and now watching every Dodgers and Rockies game from her home in Salt Lake City.

Her grandson Patrick Faust helped arrange the meeting while Kelley visited family in Denver. After finishing his warmups, Ohtani knelt before her and signed a baseball. "I'm so lucky," Kelley told reporters. "I went home and called my brother in Japan. It's a dream come true."

Kelley also met other Japanese players that day, including Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki and Rockies player Tomoyuki Sugano. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, born in Okinawa, joined them too. Each player was moved by the chance to honor someone who survived such tragedy and built a new life.

Why This Inspires

Broadcaster Stephen Nelson met Kelley that day and broke down in tears. "For her to experience what she went through and endure that, and come here to make a better life for herself and future generations, we can't even fathom that," he said.

Sugano spoke through his interpreter about the rare opportunity. "She said she's really passionate and really likes watching baseball," he shared. Faust noted how meaningful it was to celebrate someone who lived through the atomic bomb and still found joy in life's simple pleasures.

The meeting reminded everyone present that hearing and honoring survivor stories keeps history alive for future generations. Nelson wiped away tears as he explained the importance of documenting these moments before they're lost.

At 100 years old, Kelley proves that resilience and hope can outlast even the darkest moments in history.