"Why Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Is Warning Lakers Fans to Stay Away from Ohtani"
Dodgers' Dave Roberts Playfully Warns Lakers Fans: 'Hands Off Ohtani'
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a lighthearted message for Lakers fans: Shohei Ohtani is off-limits.
“Hands off Shohei,” Roberts said with a grin. “They’ve got enough superstars in purple and gold. Leave him alone.”
The joke comes amid social media buzz following news that Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter is purchasing a majority stake in the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion. Soon after the announcement, fan-made images of Ohtani in a Lakers jersey flooded platforms like X.
Fox baseball analyst Ben Verlander joked: “We're really about to have Shohei Ohtani out here dropping 50 on Christmas Day for the Lakers.”
Fans chimed in with mock suggestions that Ohtani could be a two-way player in the NBA too, debating whether he’d start at shooting guard or small forward. Others quipped that Ohtani’s heavily deferred $700 million Dodgers contract helped fund Walter’s Lakers purchase.
Roberts, however, made it clear where Ohtani belongs: “Hachimura is taking care of the Japanese side of things for the Lakers,” he said, referring to forward Rui Hachimura. “We’ll have Shohei on the baseball side.”
Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka — a former player in Japan’s women’s basketball league — attended a Lakers game last December and received personalized jerseys.
As for Roberts, he’s hoping the new ownership connection might land him some premium courtside seats. “I’m sure a lot of people have hit Mark up,” he said. “But I might add myself to the list.”
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