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Dodgers believe Shohei Ohtani will get a boost from 'dad strength' as a new father
ARLINGTON, Texas — As a father of two, Dave Roberts is a true believer.
“Dad strength,” he declared Sunday morning, “is real.”
Which, naturally, made the Dodgers manager all the more excited about the return of the team’s newest dad: Shohei Ohtani.
“Now that he is a father,” Roberts joked, “we might see some 120[-mph] exit velos off the bat.”
Indeed, when Ohtani rejoined the Dodgers on Easter morning, after being away for two games for the birth of his first child this weekend, he was met with a wave of congratulations — and also a hint of expectation.
Sure, the so-called theory of dad strength — gains in physical strength and stamina that some new dads seemingly experience upon entering fatherhood — might be more of a playful urban legend than scientifically proven fact.
But when it came to Ohtani, the intrigue was palpable.
“I’m sure if there is someone that is gonna have it,” teammate Mookie Betts said, “it’s Shohei.”
Whatever fatherly forces Ohtani acquired this weekend — when he and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, welcomed a baby girl — weren’t immediately on display in his first game back in the lineup.
In the Dodgers’ 1-0 win on Sunday, Ohtani walked just once and went hitless in three other at-bats. His top exit velocity was only 82 mph. Roberts said after the game that the reigning MVP looked a little unsettled at the plate.
“[He was] overly aggressive,” Roberts said after Ohtani hit two groundouts and a strikeout. “Having two days off, I think today he just came a little anxious.”
Still, it did little to dampen belief in the dad strength phenomenon — one that, well before Ohtani entered the ranks of parenting, has become particularly popular within professional baseball.
In recent years, several MLB stars have had memorable dad strength surges; perhaps none more notable than when Angels slugger Mike Trout hit six home runs in his first eight games after becoming a father in 2020.
MLB’s website even tracks what it terms as “dad strength home runs,” listing the 26 players since 2011 who have gone deep in their first game back from paternity leave. Phillies star Bryce Harper, remarkably, has done it twice.
Around the Dodgers’ clubhouse Sunday morning, several players recounted their own dad strength experiences.
Third baseman Max Muncy noted how, after the birth of his daughter, Sophie, in July 2021, he went on to receive MVP votes at the end of what became a career-best season — even if, he added with a laugh, there were plenty of “dad ache” moments that also came along with it.
“Just when your arms start hurting holding the baby, and your back starts hurting,” he said. “I had more of those moments than I had dad strength moments.”
Tommy Edman joked that his own recent power surge, which has seen the once light-hitting utilityman rack up 13 home runs in his last 60 games going back to last season, has come in the wake of his son Eli’s arrival two offseasons ago.
“Ever since he’s been born,” Edman said, “my home run rate has gone up.”
Plenty of others detailed changes they noticed away from the field upon becoming fathers.
Evan Phillips said he feels his dad strength whenever he’s carrying groceries or other baby-related products for his 2-year-old son, Beau.
“When the baby stuff at home happens, you just gotta make it happen,” he said.
While Phillips was on a rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City last week, he highlighted another benefit not shared by younger prospects in the organization.
“We had an 11 a.m. game … and everyone is walking in all dragging,” Phillips chuckled. “And I’m like, ‘Guys, I woke up at the same time I always do.’”
Veteran pitcher and father of four, Clayton Kershaw, explained a similar dynamic.
“I think you just have more energy,” he said. “You just have to. Like now, I don’t ever feel the need to really sit down. I just am ready to go, all the time.”
“When you don’t have kids, you feel like, ‘Oh gosh, I just need to relax,’ or like, ‘I just need a day,’” Kershaw added. “Now, you don’t have that. But you don’t need it, either.”
Roberts, too, recalled dad strength moments from his playing days, crediting it for a few of the 23 career home runs he hit over 10 years in the majors.
“There’s something to the dad strength,” he reiterated. “But [I was] nothing close to Shohei.”
Ohtani, of course, isn’t exactly lacking for physical capabilities on the field. Last season, he became the first player in MLB history to have a 50-homer, 50-steal campaign. This year, he already has six long balls, five stolen bases and, according to MLB’s Statcast data system, one of the five hardest swings in the majors.
However, Roberts noted, it’s the renewed perspective fatherhood provides that usually drives the biggest transformation of players.
“Some of the attributes you get from being a dad do translate to the baseball field,” he said. “Not sweating the small stuff. Understanding what’s most important. I have seen our players evolve in how they look at life and baseball.”
And to that end, how Ohtani navigated his first weekend of fatherhood had already made an impression on the manager.
“For him to just make sure the baby was healthy and to get back here, and to be a part of this, certainly shows his ability to balance life and work,” Roberts said. “It’s good to have him back. And most importantly, I’m happy him and Mamiko have a healthy baby girl.”
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Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
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Star receiver Puka Nacua will fully participate in voluntary offseason workouts, the Rams are getting closer to another contract adjustment with quarterback Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead hope backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo decides to put off retirement and return for a third season and possible Super Bowl run.
McVay and Snead addressed those topics and the NFL draft on Tuesday during a videoconference with reporters.
Nacua led the NFL in receptions last season but also was involved in a string of off-the-field incidents the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. Those situations put the brakes on any immediate discussion between the Rams and Nacua about a massive extension for the fourth-year pro.
In March, Nacua began a rehabilitation program in Malibu, but he was present for the first day of workouts on Monday.
Nacua, 24, “looks great” and is “doing really well,” McVay said. McVay declined to detail discussions he’s had with the All-Pro, who was a finalist for NFL offensive player of the year.
“He and I have a great relationship,” McVay said. “Feel really good about kind of the direction we’re going.”
Stafford, 38, led the Rams to the NFC championship game last season and is the reigning NFL most valuable player. According to overthecap.com, he is due to carry a salary-cap number of $48.3 million this season.
But Stafford has no doubt demanded, and will receive, a raise and a possible additional year in a deal that the Rams acknowledged two years ago is essentially a year-to-year situation.
“Progress has been made,” Snead said of negotiations.
There is no timeline, Snead said, “but don’t expect any drama, per se.”
Garoppolo, 34, has backed up Stafford for two seasons, and he has been invaluable.
Last year, with Stafford sidelined for training camp because of a back issue, Garoppolo ran the offense and prepped the defense with a skillset honed during a 12-year career that included a Super Bowl appearance. Stafford joined workouts before the season and remained healthy throughout, but Garoppolo was perhaps the most valuable insurance policy in the NFL.
Last season, Garoppolo played on a one-year contract and earned $4.5 million, according to overthecap.com.
McVay expressed confidence in fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett, but said he was hopeful that “when the time is right,” Garoppolo will “change his mind,” and return.
“You leave the door open,” McVay said when asked if there was a point that Rams would press Garoppolo to return. “I don’t think you want to press. What you don’t want to do is ever force a guy to play if in his mind he’s ready to move on.
“But you don’t want to minimize that, ‘Hey, if you do decide you want to play, let’s make sure it’s here with us.”
The Rams have the 13th pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh. They have one pick in the second and third rounds, one in the sixth round and three in the seventh.
Receiver, offensive line and edge rusher are among the positions the Rams could address with their first top-15 pick since they selected quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
“There’s a lot of possibilities,” McVay said. “We don’t control what happens in those 12 picks before, and so what we’ve done is a lot of contingency planning and a lot of conversations, and feel really good about that.”
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The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
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With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
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The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
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View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
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