Boxer Mike Tyson presented the ESPY award for best single-game performance to Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani on July 15. Just don’t ask him who Shohei Ohtani plays for, what sport he plays, or even apparently what gender Shohei Ohtani is.

After (somewhat) correctly pronouncing Ohtani’s name, Tyson turned to co-presented Logan Paul to make sure he got it right.

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“Shohei could not be here tonight,” Tyson said. “He sends his gratitude and appreciation to ESPN and everyone who voted for him,” Paul said.

“Shohei’s a guy?” Tyson said, turning to Paul.

Tyson, 60, certainly would be forgiven for not following MLB on a regular basis. He sparred with Ted Barrett before Barrett became a major league umpire. Other than that, the Tyson/MLB concentric circles are separate.

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It’s at least somewhat surprising that Ohtani’s name never reached Tyson’s ears. Ohtani is at least the game’s best player today, if not ever. His single-game performance against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series was one for the ages.

Ohtani threw six shutout innings against the Brewers as the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, and went 3 for 3 with three home runs at the plate. Tyson said it himself: it was an award-winning performance.

The game basically clinched the NLCS MVP Award for Ohtani. Now it’s been honored across multiple sports.

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Ohtani was also nominated for the ESPY award for best male athlete, an honor which might convince Tyson of Ohtani’s gender once and for all.

Baseball players rarely attend the ESPYs ceremony to receive their awards in person. The ceremony is traditionally held during MLB’s All-Star break, giving ESPN the night’s major live sports programming all to itself, but making it hard for the top MLB stars to attend.

Ohtani at least had no obvious prior obligations. He did not attend All-Star festivities in Philadelphia because of a irritation in his left knee. Perhaps he and Tyson can schedule a gentleman’s handshake down the road.

With the 2026 All-Star Game behind us, it’s time to gear up for the second half of the season.

That said, the first half was full of ups and downs for the Boys in Blue, but they hit the break with an MLB-best record of 61-36.

We here at Dodgers Nation asked fans to help us put together our list of the best moments.

Check out some of our favorite responses below, and let us know if we missed anything!

1. Miguel Rojas’ epic throw

Let’s start with an electric defensive highlight that Lysa Stone summed up nicely: “Miggy throw, Freddie split.”

On June 5 in the Freeway Series, a hard-hit ground ball ricocheted off of Roki Sasaki’s glove.

Fortunately, Miggy Ro was there to barehand the ball and get it to first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was in a full split, narrowly beating the runner.

The Angels runner was initially called safe, though Rojas’ incredible play was confirmed to be an out upon review.

As Jorge Aleman described it, “Play of The Year!!!”

2. Teoscar Hernandez’s game-winning grand slam

Mike Shippey nominated this one: “Teo’s GS against the Pads on July 3rd was pretty sweet.”

Mike, “pretty sweet” might be an understatement.

On July 3, the Dodgers were in a 3-0 hole to the San Diego Padres.

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Fortunately, with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Teo Hernandez stepped up and homered to left center field, flipping the game on its head and leading to a Dodgers win.

As Brent Schneider noted, that’s just one of several come-from-behind wins against the Padres this season, providing several results for Dodgers fans to savor.

3. Vesia’s save in front of the nurses

Shoutout to Joe Collins for bringing up this emotional moment.

On April 14, Alex Vesia recorded a save in a 2-1 win over the New York Mets with three ninth-inning strikeouts on just 10 pitches, but that’s far from the best part of the night.

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Vesia and his wife, Kayla, lost their daughter during the 2025 World Series run, and for this game, the Vesias invited a few dozen healthcare workers who’d cared for their family to take in Dodger Stadium.

After the game, SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson pointed out the caregivers’ suite to Vesia.

That wave he shared with them was a moment not to be forgotten.

4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s nearly perfect game

This one was nominated by X user @yestosehunn: On June 13, Yoshinobu Yamamoto took a perfect game into the eighth inning and a no-hitter into the ninth.

A bobbled ball by Mookie Betts with two outs in the eighth inning and a solo homer in the ninth were all that stood between Yama and history, though the game was well in hand by that point.

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With the near-miss performance, it seems like it could be a matter of time until Yamamoto earns that no-hitter.

As an honorable mention, we have to include Yama’s dominant performance against the Toronto Blue Jays after his World Series MVP performance last year, an achievement noted by both Daniel Schneider and Damien Garrett.

5. Dalton Rushing responds to controversy with walkoff hit

Dalton Rushing may be the Dodgers’ lightning rod this season, but amid all the confrontations with other teams and a public spat with Shohei Ohtani, he’s still a fantastic catcher and hitter.

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In the Dodgers first extra-innings game of the year, Rushing was the hero with an 11th inning RBI single.

“Rush getting that walk off after all the controversy. Feels good,” Jose Ortega said.

And an honorable mention here: Rushing’s first MLB grand slam against the New York Mets on April 15.

What did we miss?

There’s so much we didn’t even get to with this list, moments like Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts each hitting their 300th home runs, Max Muncy’s greatness and more.

Let us know what you wish we had included and perhaps we’ll have to put together a Part 2 before the regular season resumes.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is getting treatment for his left knee after a good deal of discomfort led the team to play it safe and pull him from his last scheduled start before the All-Star break.

Ohtani has a history of knee problems, having been born with a bipartite patella, which led to him having surgery back in 2019.

One of the symptoms of the condition is dealing with inflammation or irritation at times. The surgery was meant to end any issues with the left knee related to the condition, but similar symptoms have arisen.

This time, Ohtani will not undergo full-blown surgery; rather, he will undergo treatment, according to the Dodgers.

After Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ohtani is set to have his knee drained to remove any built-up fluid, then receive a pain-relieving injection.

“He’s been managing this quite well, the knee,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So if there’s a chance that we could kind of be proactive and get it drained and do whatever we need to do to try to manage it, along with the rest for the All-Star break, we were going to do that.”

What is the plan for Ohtani after the treatment?

Despite making the All-Star Game, Ohtani will not play; in fact, he won’t even travel, so he can get right back to pitching regularly following the All-Star break.

“The goal is to be able to throw according to regular schedule,” Ohtani said. “Although I could’ve started today, it would’ve still been pushing the envelope a little bit. But my every intention is to use the off days to make sure I’m in a good place to be able to be in the rotation.”

As the season progresses, fans should expect the Dodgers to be careful now that the postseason will be getting ever closer.

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For someone who plays so often, at such a high level, that kind of usage begets a certain level of care.

“I think we all know with where we’re at, who he is as a player, if there’s opportunities to be extra cautious and mindful, it’s just prudent.”