Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was sending a playful message to Lakers fans about Lakers Otani as baseball and NBA teams have the same majority ownership.
“I’ll take my hands off Shohei,” he said with a smile. “They got plenty of superstars in purple and gold. Leave him alone.”
Social media on Wednesday was filled with photos of the face and body of the Japanese two-way superstar in the Lakers jersey.
One suggested that Otani could become a two-way player for the Lakers, but someone wondered if the Lakers would start Otani in a two or three positions. Others postponed most of their $700 million 10-year contract and, as one person posted, thanked him, “I can put all my money in Mark Walters’ pocket and buy and save the Lakers franchise.”
CNBC’s Alex Sherman explains why Lakers fans can “easily rest” after Mark Walter acquires majority ownership of the franchise in a record $10 billion deal.
The Lakers already have a Japanese player in Forward Louis Hachimura.
“I think Tamura is taking care of the side of Japan,” Roberts said. “There’s a hei on the side of the baseball.”
Last December, Otani and his wife attended a Lakers game and were featured in a personalized jersey. His wife Tanaka played four seasons with Fujii Akanami in the women’s Japanese Basketball League.
Roberts looked warm at the suggestion that he might be sitting in courtside seats filled with Lakers Games celebrities this winter.
“I’m sure a lot of people have marked up,” he said.
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