Alex Call jumped the dugout railing to join the postgame handshake line and, on the way over, clipped Shohei Ohtani in the elbow. The incident happened Tuesday, July 23, at Citizens Bank Park, right after the Dodgers beat the Phillies 9-5 to improve to 65-38 — the best record in baseball. Nobody was seriously hurt, but Call had to have seen his entire career flash before his eyes in that split second.
A jump, a railing, and Ohtani’s elbow
The Dodgers’ postgame routine is standard stuff: head out to the field and congratulate each other. Call, a 31-year-old reserve outfielder, decided to hop over the dugout railing to get in on the celebration. The problem: Ohtani was standing right there, and Call’s leg made contact with his left elbow in the process.
The moment was completely accidental — no question about that — but the context made it a legitimate scare. Ohtani is already dealing with a knee injury that has kept him off the mound all season, so the last thing the franchise needed was a new injury concern involving their most valuable player. Call had to know it the instant it happened: no backup wants to go down in history as the guy who hurt Shohei in July.
No injury confirmed — Call can breathe again
As of this writing, there is no official injury report for Ohtani stemming from the incident. According to coverage from Yahoo Sports and The Big Lead, Ohtani shook it off and the team issued no emergency statement. That’s the best possible news for Los Angeles.
There is a minor discrepancy in the reports about which elbow was affected: Yahoo Sports and The Big Lead point to the left elbow, while ClutchPoints references the right. The video doesn’t settle the question clearly, so that detail is worth holding loosely until the team clarifies.
What is clear: Call finished the night with more adrenaline than any bench player ever wants. He’s hitting .270/.383/.350 in 2026 with 15 RBI in 120 plate appearances — solid numbers for a reserve role — but that slash line is not what anyone is going to remember about Tuesday night.
Dodgers stay on top, but the scare was real
The 9-5 win over Philadelphia keeps the Dodgers at 65-38, the best mark in the majors. The score was comfortable, but the dugout moment was a sharp reminder of how quickly a season can turn when the team’s centerpiece is already limited by injury.
Ohtani hasn’t pitched at all this year because of that knee. The fact that Call’s celebratory leap didn’t add a second problem is, from a franchise standpoint, just as important as any regular-season win.
The Dodgers are in first place. What they can’t afford is losing their best player over a poorly timed jump over a railing. Call will probably do the exact same celebration next game — he’ll just look twice before he leaps.
