Dave Roberts Jokes About Shohei Ohtani's 'Dad Strength' After Daughter's Birth

Tim Capurso | Apr 21, 2025

Ohtani greets Roberts before a game. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

On Saturday, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announced the birth of his daughter in some exciting news for he and his wife Mamiko. Immediately, baseball fans began to speculate about the added boost Ohtani could receive from dad strength, or the apparent boost in physical power that new fathers gain.

Even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts broached the subject of "dad strength," which, for the record, he believes is an actual thing, and proceeded to crack a joke about how it could help the three-time MVP

"Dad strength is real," Roberts told MLB.com on Sunday. "It's amazing how hard Shohei hits the ball now. So now that he is a father, we might see some 120 [mph] exit [velocity hits] off the bat. Something unprecedented."

That would be a scary sight indeed, given what Ohtani has done to baseballs before entering fatherhood. In each of the last four seasons, Ohtani registered one of the five hardest-hit baseballs in each year, topping out at 119.2 mph in a game last April.

Could there be more batted balls like that for Ohtani now that he's a father? Ohtani went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 1–0 win over the Texas Rangers, his first game back since returning from the paternity list after missing two contests

But stay tuned, as a different version of Ohtani could step to the plate on Tuesday when the Dodgers take on the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a two-game set.

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