Shortly after he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason, Shohei Ohtani gave a Porsche to the wife of new teammate Joe Kelly, who gave up his No. 17 with the Dodgers for Ohtani. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hoped he might get a similar gift from Ohtani, but things did not work out quite as well for Roberts as he probably hoped.
Roberts recently joked to Ohtani that he needed a new car, which the Japanese superstar was happy to help with. But instead of a six-figure sports car, Roberts received a tiny toy car with which he can play, as reported by the LA Times’ Mike DiGiovanna.
“He did buy me a car,” Roberts said. “And I guess I didn’t specify what type of car [I wanted]. So Shohei did bring in a nice little Porsche for me, so I can’t say he never gave me anything.”
Ohtani, for his part, said this may be just the beginning of his pranks.
“He said he wanted a car — he got a car,” Ohtani said. “I’m glad he’s happy. … I like to make people laugh. I’m hoping I can do more of these.”
Shohei Ohtani passes Dave Roberts on unique Dodgers list
Before Dave Roberts was a manager, he was a player. Roberts, who started his career in Cleveland, played for the Dodgers from 2002 to 2004, during which time he hit seven of his 23 career home runs. For nearly two decades, that mark of seven sat as a record for a Japanese-born Dodgers player. But when Ohtani signed his $700 million contract with the team in the winter, everyone could see Roberts’ days as that record-holder were numbered.
In his six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani hit no fewer than seven home runs, and the only season in which his home run total was in single digits was when he played 44 games in a COVID-shortened year. Ohtani did get off to a relatively slow start with the Dodgers, though, as he had not hit a home run and had batting splits of .242 AVG / .297 OBP / .333 SLG / .631 OPS through his first eight games.
In Game 9, on April 3 against the San Francisco Giants, things clicked. Ohtani smashed a ball to right field for his first home run as a Dodger before pulling one just inside the foul pole against the Chicago Cubs in the very next game.
Ohtani tied Roberts’ record of seven home runs back on April 26 with a homer amid boos from Toronto Blue Jays fans. And on Saturday, more than week after tying Roberts’ record, Ohtani broke it with a blast to right field. Roberts and Ohtani both laughed as Ohtani trotted around the bases before high-fiving when they met on the steps of the Dodgers’ dugout.
After the game, Ohtani admitted he was “relieved” to have broken the record.
The Dodgers hope Ohtani will break many more records wearing Dodger Blue over the next decade, but more importantly, win a few World Series championships along the way.
The Dodgers finish their home series vs. the Atlanta Braves today at 1:10 p.m. PT.
