{"id":12802,"date":"2025-04-20T12:06:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T19:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/?p=12802"},"modified":"2025-04-20T12:06:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T19:06:58","slug":"shohei-ohtani-returns-to-lineup-with-dad-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/shohei-ohtani-returns-to-lineup-with-dad-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani Returns to Lineup with &#8216;Dad Strength&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction to Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s Return<\/h2>\n<p>Two-way star Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 lineup Sunday for the series finale against the Texas Rangers, activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth to\u00a0the couple\u2019s first child\u00a0in Southern California.<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Ohtani&#8217;s Lineup Position and Availability<\/h2>\n<p>The 30-year-old Ohtani, who didn\u2019t address the media before the game, will be in his accustomed leadoff spot. Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani arrived in Texas late Saturday night.<\/p>\n<h2>Balancing Life and Work<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cTo get back here and to be a part of this certainly shows his ability to balance life and work,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cGood to have him back and most importantly I\u2019m happy he and Mamiko have a healthy baby girl.\u201d Roberts said now that his star is a father, expect some \u201cdad strength\u201d exit velocities.<\/p>\n<h2>The Concept of &quot;Dad Strength&quot;<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cDad strength is real,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how hard Shohei hits the ball now. So now that he is a father, you might see some 120 exit velos.\u201d This concept, though humorous, highlights the potential boost in performance that comes with significant life events like the birth of a child.<\/p>\n<h2>Ohtani&#8217;s Performance Before the Break<\/h2>\n<p>Ohtani missed the series\u2019 first two games, which the Dodgers split, matching the previous two World Series winners. He appeared in all of Los Angeles\u2019 previous 20 games, hitting .288 with six home runs and 21 runs scored (one off major league lead).<\/p>\n<h2>Personal Statement from Ohtani<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI am so grateful to my loving wife (28-year-old former professional basketball player Mamiko Tanaka) who gave birth to our healthy, beautiful daughter,\u201d Ohtani wrote on Instagram on Saturday. \u201cTo my daughter, thank you for making us very nervous yet super anxious parents.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s return to the lineup after the birth of his daughter marks a significant moment in his career, balancing personal life with professional duties. The anticipation of &quot;dad strength&quot; adds an exciting layer to his performance, and fans are eager to see how this new chapter in his life affects his game.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Q: How long was Shohei Ohtani out of the lineup?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A: Ohtani missed the first two games of the series against the Texas Rangers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Q: What is &quot;dad strength&quot; in the context of Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s return?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A: &quot;Dad strength&quot; refers to the potential increase in performance, particularly in exit velocities, that Manager Dave Roberts jokingly attributes to Ohtani becoming a father.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Q: How has Ohtani performed this season before his break?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A: Before his break, Ohtani hit .288 with six home runs and 21 runs scored in 20 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction to Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s Return Two-way star Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 lineup Sunday for the series finale against the Texas Rangers, activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth to\u00a0the couple\u2019s first child\u00a0in Southern California. Ohtani&#8217;s Lineup Position and Availability The 30-year-old Ohtani, who didn\u2019t address the media before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.nbclosangeles.com\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2209080643.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=594,396&w=594&resize=594,396&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12804,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12802\/revisions\/12804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}