Current:Home > StocksShohei Ohtani gifts manager Dave Roberts toy Porsche before breaking his home run record -DataFinance
Shohei Ohtani gifts manager Dave Roberts toy Porsche before breaking his home run record
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:26:11
Shohei Ohtani has many more records to break over the course of his baseball career, but he may not have any more fun breaking one than he did Saturday night.
Ever since finding out that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is the team's all-time leader in homers by a Japanese-born player, Ohtani and his skipper have enjoyed a running joke as he approached Roberts' grand total of seven. (Roberts was born on a U.S. military base in Okinawa.)
After Ohtani passed Hideki Matsui on April 21 for the most homers in MLB history by a Japanese-born player with his 176th, he deadpanned that he now had his sights set on Roberts' record.
In their back-and-forth with reporters since then, Ohtani and Roberts were both asked about the possibility of the slugger giving his manager a gift to commemorate the historic occasion. Roberts suggested a new car might be appropriate.
Before Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves − with the pair tied at seven homers apiece − Roberts got the car.
All things Dodgers: Latest Los Angeles Dodgers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
Later that evening, Ohtani got the record.
His solo shot in the bottom of the third inning off the Braves' Bryce Elder was his eighth of the season. And the torch was officially passed.
"He said he wanted a car," Ohtani said through translator Will Ireton. "I’m glad he’s happy. He got a car."
So what was the significance of the Porsche?
In this meticulously detailed timeline from MLB.com, we're reminded that when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, reliever Joe Kelly had Ohtani's preferred jersey No. 17.
As a thank you gift for giving up his number, Kelly and his wife Ashley received a brand new Porsche courtesy of his new teammate.
So even though no one could blame Roberts for trying, he had to settle for a miniature version instead.
"I just want to say congratulations and thank you very much," Roberts said, the toy car in his hand after the game. "This is my car. The difference is Joe’s car doesn’t fit in my office. This car fits on my desk."
veryGood! (5)
Related
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Skyfall
- Julie Chrisley's Prison Sentence for Bank Fraud and Tax Evasion Case Overturned by Appeals Court
- Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky rivalry is gift that will keep on giving for WNBA
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Bankruptcy trustee discloses plan to shut down Alex Jones’ Infowars and liquidate assets
- Active shooters targeting the public spiked from 2019 to 2023 compared to prior 5-year period, FBI report says
- Los Angeles public school board votes to ban student cellphone use on campus
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Dagestan, in southern Russia, has a history of violence. Why does it keep happening?
Ranking
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Indiana ex-state senator Randy Head elected chair of the state Republican Party by GOP committee
- Princess Anne has been hospitalized after an accident thought to involve a horse
- J.Crew’s Effortlessly Cool & Summer-Ready Styles Are on Sale up to 60% Off: $12 Tanks, $19 Shorts & More
- 'Most Whopper
- Princess Anne has been hospitalized after an accident thought to involve a horse
- Boxer Roy Jones Jr.’s Son DeAndre Dead at 32
- Panthers vs. Oilers Game 7 highlights: Florida wins first Stanley Cup title
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Arkansas Supreme Court reinstates rule eliminating ‘X’ option for sex on licenses and IDs
Looking for online deals ahead of Prime Days? Google upgrades shopping search tools
Yosemite employee charged in rape, choking of co-worker on same day they met
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
3,500 dog treat packages recalled over possible metal contamination, safety concerns
Pennsylvania woman drowns after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park
For Tesla’s futuristic new Cybertruck, a fourth recall