Sports
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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The Seattle Seahawks locked down the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a strong path to the Super Bowl on Saturday night with a season finale win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle also finished with their best regular season record in franchise history, clinching 14 wins for the first time ever.
The Seahawks held on to a 10-point victory despite outgaining the 49ers 363 yards to 173, and running 64 plays to San Francisco’s 42.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks fails to catch the ball against Ji’Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)
Seattle missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter to waste two red zone drives, but dominated on defense to prevent those missed opportunities from coming back to haunt them.
The 49ers wasted their best drive of the night as well when quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted at Seattle’s three-yard line in the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit, which seemingly secured the game for the Seahawks.
NFL WEEK 17 SCORES: AFC NORTH, NFC SOUTH UP FOR GRABS AS PLAYOFF PICTURE ALMOST COMPLETE
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, in his first season on the team, completed 20 passes on 26 attempts for 198 yards and helped set up the only touchdown of the entire game in the first quarter.
Darnold redeemed a disappointing Week-18 game for the Minnesota Vikings last season when he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in a battle for the top seed against the Detroit Lions.
Darnold said “Learning from mistakes, and staying calm from the pocket,” made the difference in his performance Saturday compared to a year ago, in a postgame interview with ESPN.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had just 127 yards with the late interception, and took a big hit on his final pass of the night, then took a while to get back up. He was eventually able to walk off the field, and Seattle ran the clock out.
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When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.
It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.
Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.
Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.
Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.
Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.
Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.
Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.
Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.
St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.
Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.
Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.
Girls basketball
Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.
Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.
Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).
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Only one more week of the 2025 NFL regular season remains, as Week 17 brought about some more playoff implications and even 2026 NFL Draft key positions.
The biggest takeaway from the slate of Week 17 is that two divisions in the NFL — the AFC North and NFC South — will be determined by whoever wins key matchups in Week 18.
First, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers getting upset by the Cleveland Browns at home, as Aaron Rodgers couldn’t find Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a controversial game-ending play in the end zone. That loss sets up the AFC North title game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, which is only possibly thanks to a road victory where Derrick Henry scored four touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, despite both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers losing their respective matchups, the NFL tiebreakers make their Week 18 bout the NFC South title game.
Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
And while everyone was focused on the NFL playoff picture, the two-game 4 o’clock slate gave us the New York Giants against the Las Vegas Raiders, the winner of which owning the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The Giants would’ve solidified the pick with a loss, but Jaxson Dart and the Giants’ offense blew out Geno Smith and the Raiders to relinquish the pick, which now belongs in Sin City.
NFL WEEK 16 SCORES: PLAYOFF PRESSURE LEADS TO THRILLING FINISHES ACROSS LEAGUE
Here’s how every NFL game played out:
THURSDAY, DEC. 25
– DALLAS COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 23
– MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, DETROIT LIONS 10
– DENVER BRONCOS 20, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 13
Dak Prescott (4) of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after his team’s touchdown against the Washington Commanders in the second quarter of a game at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
SATURDAY, DEC. 27
– HOUSTON TEXANS 20, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 16
– BALTIMORE RAVENS 41, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24
SUNDAY, DEC. 28
– CINCINNATI BENGALS 37, ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
– CLEVELAND BROWNS 13, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7
– NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 34, TENNESSEE TITANS 26
– JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 23, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17
– MIAMI DOLPHINS 20, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 17
– NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 42, NEW YORK JETS 10
– SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 27, CAROLINA PANTHERS 10
– NEW YORK GIANTS 34, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 10
– PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 13, BUFFALO BILLS 12
– SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS-CHICAGO BEARS (TBD)
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
MONDAY, DEC. 29
– LOS ANGELES RAMS-ATLANTA FALCONS (TBD)
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