Before Saturday night’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Shohei Ohtani met 100-year-old Momoyo Nakamoto Kelley. Kelley was born in Japan and survived the atomic bomb blast in Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. She emigrated to the United States with her husband in the early 1950s and currently lives in Salt Lake City.
Kelley was visiting family in Fort Collins, Colorado, when her grandson, Patrick Faust, helped make her dream a reality. Kelley loves baseball and watches Dodgers and Rockies games.
A Dream Come True at Coors Field
Kelley described her experience as “a dream come true.” Her grandson wanted to do something special for her, as she is one of the few people still alive from when the atom bomb was dropped.
Patrick Faust noted her interest in baseball has grown in recent years, “especially, with all the Japanese players in the game.”
Ohtani signed a baseball and posed for a photo with Kelley.
Roberts and Others Meet Kelley
Besides Ohtani, Kelley also met Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki and manager Dave Roberts, who was born in Japan. Roberts described it as a pleasure meeting Kelley. He noted she was 19 when the a-bomb dropped in Nagasaki and called it a miracle she lived to tell her story, adding, “Just seeing her is a piece of history.”
Broadcaster’s Emotional Reaction
Dodgers play-by-play broadcaster Stephen Nelson, who is of Japanese heritage, was visibly emotional after meeting Kelley. He said he was standing on a lot of shoulders as a great-grandchild of a Japanese immigrant. Nelson added that it’s important to hear their stories and pass them along to future generations, so people don’t forget.
Kelley’s Experience of the Atomic Blast
Kelley described the atomic explosion when it hit Nagasaki as being “like the sky was on fire.” Thankfully, she was “upwind” from it, according to her son-in-law, Paul Faust.