Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is not exempt from feeling worried for getting called into the principal’s office — only in this case, he was being summoned to the office of manager Dave Roberts.
It appears Ohtani — who has proven time and time again that he is out of this world — experiences fear just like everyone else. While Ohtani is never tame in the batter’s box, he looked sheepish as he entered Roberts’ office.
But then came the $700 million smile.
“I have a gift for you,” Roberts explained to Ohtani. “Actually, for your daughter.”
“For my daughter? OK, thank you.” Ohtani replied.
“This is from my wife [Tricia] and me to you and your family and your daughter,” Roberts said. “So, we have jokes always. This is a little bit of a joke. It’s a Porsche. This is going to be your daughter’s first car.”
“Thank you, I love it,” Ohtani said.
He then said in English: “I thought I’m in trouble. Some trouble.”
The origin of the Porsche jokes were born last season when Ohtani first joined the Dodgers. Ohtani gifted Joe Kelly’s wife, Kelly, an actual Porsche as a thank you for the reliever giving up No. 17.
Roberts, who previously held the franchise record of seven home runs by a Japanese-born player, teased that Ohtani should gift him a Porsche once he broke the record. Ohtani listened to his skipper’s request, but added a hilarious twist.
Ohtani bought Roberts a mini toy Porsche and placed it in his parking lot space as a practical joke. Since then, the two have had a number of jests.
“Shohei has been very gracious and we’ve got this long-running practical joke,” Roberts said. “This is more of a sincere gesture, not necessarily a practical joke but I wanted to present it to him.”
