Shohei Ohtani talented new teammate Joe Kelly’s wife with a new Porsche Panamerasports car with a sticker price of between $100,000 and $200,000, when the Dodgers reliever agreed to give his No. 17 jersey to the two-way star after Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in mid from December. .
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received a similar gift from Ohtani on Friday, but it was more of a joke: a mauve Porsche model with a sticker price of… between $100 and $200.
The car was given to the manager to tag Ohtani, tying Roberts’ franchise record for home runs by a Japanese-born player last weekend in Toronto, a mark that stood at seven entering Saturday’s game. at night against the Atlanta Braves.
Roberts, knowing that Ohtani has a sponsorship deal with Porsche, had joked on the last road trip that, “I need a new car.” Ohtani received the message and delivered it…sort of.
“A Japanese-born player who is about to break my Dodgers record (for home runs) very soon, brought a gift, a Porsche,” Roberts told reporters Saturday afternoon, building suspense with his story.
“He brought it to my office… so there is context. He bought me a car. And I guess I didn’t specify what kind of car (he wanted). So Shohei brought me a nice little Porsche, so I can’t say he never gave me anything.”
Then in the third inning on Saturday night 11-2 victory over the BravesOhtani hit a 392-foot solo home run into the right field pavilion for home run No. 8, passing Roberts on the franchise’s home run list for players born in Japan.
Asked after the game how he felt passing Roberts, Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said, “Relieved.”
And what about the little prank he pulled on Roberts?
“He said he wanted a car, he got a car,” Ohtani said with a smile. “I’m glad he’s happy. …I like to make people laugh. I hope to do more of these.”
Roberts then interrupted Ohtani’s press conference, which took place in the hallway outside the Dodgers clubhouse, to show reporters the toy car Ohtani gave him and give a short speech.
“Tonight, he passed me for the Japanese-born Dodger home run record, so Shohei, I just want to congratulate you and thank you very much,” Roberts said. “This is my car. The difference is that Joe’s car doesn’t fit in my office. This car fits on my desk.”
Will Ohtani ever replace the toy car he gave Roberts with a real Porsche he can drive?
“Yeah, if we win the World Series,” Ohtani said, “I’ll think about it.”
Read more: See every home run Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has hit this season
The laughs, the joke about his manager and his growing comfort with his new team after six years in Anaheim are just the latest signs that Ohtani has moved on from the scandal which led to the dismissal at the end of March of its former interpreter, Ippei Mizuharawho was accused of stealing at least $16 million of Ohtani to settle gambling debts.
The main one is that Ohtani, twice the most valuable player of the American League, is hitting .345 with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.044, eight home runs, 14 doubles, a triple, 22 RBIs, 28 runs and seven steals. bases in 34 games.
“I think with Shohei, it just speaks to how comfortable he is here with the Dodgers, how excited he is to play winning baseball,” Roberts said. “Arguably he has a chance to be one of the great players of our generation, if not beyond, but ultimately guys are competitors and they want to play for a championship.
“So I think the way he’s been received, the way he’s melded with our club, how much the fans have embraced him… he feels it, and I think it translates into performance. I think he is having more fun than ever and the play shows it.”
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.