Shohei Ohtani is Having ‘As Much Fun as He Ever Has’ With Dodgers, According to Dave Roberts
The Los Angeles Dodgers struck gold this offseason when they landed the most highly coveted free agent in baseball, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Every team could have used Ohtani, but only one team was able to sign him. The Dodgers looked like a strong choice for the 29-year-old at the time — and even better in hindsight.
A month and a half into the season, it’s evident Los Angeles is where Ohtani always wanted to be. He is cracking jokes, getting along with teammates, and playing some of his best ball while focusing only on hitting. He is still throwing on flat ground as he recovers from elbow surgery last September.
The two-time American League MVP clearly loves where he’s at, and manager Dave Roberts sees that as well. After Saturday’s win over the Braves, Roberts spoke to the media, including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Roberts said Ohtani is much more comfortable now than he was only a few months ago.
“I think with Shohei, it just speaks to how comfortable he feels here with the Dodgers, how excited he is to play winning baseball. He arguably 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 ball club, how much the fans have embraced him … he feels it, and I believe that it translates into performance. I think he’s having as much fun as he’s ever had, and the play shows it.”
— Dave Roberts, via the Los Angeles Times
The 29-year-old looks fresh, rejuvenated and appears to finally have moved on from the gambling scandal surrounding his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Since April 14, Ohtani is slashing .395/.471/.724 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 19 games. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Ohtani, as the goal is to dominate October and make the Dodgers the last team standing.
On top of that, Roberts has done his part in helping Ohtani get over his struggles. The lefty slugger failed to hit the ball out of the park in his first eight games. Roberts spoke to Ohtani to calm him down and to slow down his approach. Later that day, Ohtani hit his first home run in Dodger blue, and the fans at Dodger Stadium went nuts.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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