LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a playful message for Lakers fans about Shohei Ohtani, now that the major league 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 approximately $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 shooting guard or small forward. 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.”