Shohei Ohtani pranks Dave Roberts with ‘Porsche’ as he breaks manager’s home run record
By Bryan Ke
Shohei Ohtani pranked Dodgers manager Dave Roberts by giving him a toy Porsche car after breaking his home run record for the Dodgers.
Key points:
- Ohtani hit his eighth home run of the season against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night, surpassing Dave Roberts’ record of seven homers as the Dodgers’ all-time leader in homers by a Japanese-born player.
- Before the record-breaking game, Roberts joked about Ohtani giving him a gift to commemorate the occasion, suggesting a new car might be appropriate. Later, Ohtani presented him with a toy Porsche car.
The details:
- Roberts, born on a U.S. military base in Okinawa to a Japanese mother and American father, had seven homers during his tenure with the Dodgers, a record he achieved from 2002 to 2004.
- “He said he wanted a car,” Ohtani told reporters through his interpreter Will Ireton. “I’m glad he’s happy. He got a car.”
- For context, when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, reliever Joe Kelly had his preferred jersey No. 17. As a thank you gift for giving up his number, Kelly and his wife Ashley received a brand-new Porsche car courtesy of Ohtani.
- Responding to the gift, Roberts told reporters, “I just want to say congratulations and thank you very much. This is my car. The difference is Joe’s car doesn’t fit in my office. This car fits on my desk.”
- The Saturday night record was not the only record-breaking feat Ohtani pulled in recent weeks in terms of home runs. Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui’s record for the most homers in MLB history by a Japanese-born player on April 21, hitting his 176th home run.
Catching up:
- The Dodgers closed off its three-game series victory against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
- During the third and final game, Ohtani continued his impressive performance by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and two singles in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Braves. Ohtani now has 10 home runs since signing a historic $700 million deal with the Dodgers in December.
- After Sunday night’s game, Ohtani now leads the MLB in hits with 52, in batting average with .364, and in On-base Plus Slugging with 1.111 in the current season.
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