Why Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is telling Lakers fans to keep 'hands off' Ohtani
Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani smiles during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
By BETH HARRIS
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a playful message for Lakers fans about Shohei Ohtani, now that the baseball and NBA teams will have the same majority owner.
'Hands off of Shohei,' he said, smiling. 'They got enough superstars wearing the purple and gold. Leave him alone.'
Social media on Wednesday was rife with photos of the Japanese two-way superstar's face and body in a Lakers jersey after news broke that Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter is buying a majority interest in the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion.
Fox baseball analyst Ben Verlander posted on X: 'We're really about to have Shohei Ohtani out here dropping 50 on Christmas Day for the Lakers. What a time to be alive.'
Another person suggested Ohtani could be a two-way player for the Lakers, while someone wondered if the Lakers would start Ohtani at the 2 or 3 position. Others thanked Ohtani for deferring most of his $700 million, 10-year contract and, as one person posted, 'putting all that money in Mark Walters' pockets so he can buy and save the Lakers franchise.'
The Lakers already have a Japanese player in forward Rui Hachimura.
'I think Hachimura is taking care of the Japanese side of things,' Roberts said. 'We'll have Shohei on the baseball side.'
Last December, Ohtani and his wife attended a Lakers game and were presented personalized jerseys. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka played four seasons for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League.
Roberts appeared to warm to the suggestion that he might be sitting in the celebrity-packed courtside seats at Lakers games this winter.
"I'm sure a lot of people have hit Mark up," he said, "but I might add myself to the list."
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
ICE agents asked to leave Dodger Stadium parking lot, team says
FILE - The exterior of Dodgers Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers is seen in Los Angeles on March 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) The Los Angeles Dodgers organization said Thursday that it asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to leave the Dodger Stadium grounds after they arrived at a parking lot near one of the gates. Dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and cargo vans to a lot near the stadium's Gate E entrance. A group of protesters carrying signs against ICE started amassing shortly after, local media reported. 'This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization,' the team said in a statement posted on X. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were not trying to enter the stadium. 'This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. (Customs and Border Protection) vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," she said in an email. The team said the game against the San Diego Padres later Thursday will be played as planned. Television cameras showed about four agents remained at the lot Thursday afternoon while officers with the Los Angeles Police Department stood between them and dozens of protesters, some carrying signs that read 'I Like My Ice Crushed' and chanting 'ICE out of LA!' Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez arrived at the stadium and said she had been in communication with Dodger officials and the mayor's office. 'We've been in communication with the mayor's office, with the Dodgers, with Dodgers security, about seeing if they can get them moved off their private property,' she told KABC-TV. 'Public property is different. Private property -- businesses and corporations have the power to say, 'Not on my property,' And so we're waiting to see that movement happen here.' Protests began June 6 after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire the following days, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. The team has yet to make a statement regarding the arrests and raids. The Dodgers' heavily Latino fan base have been pushing for the team to make a public statement and ignited a debate online about its stance on the immigration crackdown happening in Los Angeles. The Trump administration has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders. Dozens of troops now guard federal buildings and protect federal agents making arrests. The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of around 4 million people. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids. Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting ICE present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Dodgers set franchise attendance record, surpassing 2 million fans in just 40 games
Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith, second from right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off home run as San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado walks off the field during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) baseball The Los Angeles Dodgers have surpassed 2 million in attendance in just 40 games this season. The defending World Series champions have had 2,026,238 through the gates so far. The team said Wednesday that it's the fastest they've reached that mark in franchise history. Last season, it took 42 games and in 2019, when the Dodgers set their all-time season attendance mark of 3,974,309, it took 43 games. The Dodgers have made 12 consecutive postseason appearances since 2013, winning World Series titles in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and last year. They lost back-to-back World Series appearances in 2017 and 2018. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Boxing: Welter champ Norman Jr. humbles Sasaki with 5th-round KO
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 22:56 | Sports, All Jin Sasaki fell to a fifth-round knockout defeat against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. of the United States on Thursday, failing to become the first Japanese boxer to win a belt in the division under any of the sanctioning bodies. Second-ranked, 23-year-old challenger Sasaki was the first Japanese to fight a world title bout in the weight class since 2009 but was soundly beaten at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. Norman Jr. knocked Sasaki down twice in the opening round with his left and while the challenger had a more positive second round, the 24-year-old American had him back against the ropes in the third. Norman Jr. then reeled off a deadly left hook that caught Sasaki square in the face in the fifth to send his opponent straight to the canvass and to the hospital. The unbeaten champion improved to 28-0 in his career with 22 knockout wins, while Sasaki dropped to 19-2 with 17 KO wins and a draw. Related coverage: Boxing: Nakatani defeats Nishida in title unification bout Boxing: Ginjiro Shigeoka in stable condition after post-match brain surgery
