LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani‘s “Dad Strength” is finally beginning to kick in as the Dodgers slugger hit his first home run since the birth of his daughter to jump-start a 15-2 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday night.
“It was a good home run to get back on the board for this game,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I haven’t hit one since being a father, so it’s a really nice one to be able to do that.”
Whether it’s myth or statistically proven fact, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is a firm believer in “Dad Strength,” the theory that some players gain physical strength and stamina upon entering fatherhood. MLB.com’s research department found that among the more than 200 instances of hitters returning to action from the paternity list from 2011 to 2024, 28 hit a home run in their first game back.
“Now that he’s a father,” Roberts said last week, “we might see some 120 mph exit velocities off the bat.”
Ohtani, the 2024 National League MVP, hit .125 (2-for-16) with zero RBIs and six strikeouts in his first four games back from paternity leave.
But in his last four games, Ohtani is batting .467 (7-for-15) with one homer, three doubles, a triple and two RBIs, and the home run he hit Tuesday night on Sandy Alcantara‘s first pitch of the game left his bat at 114 mph and traveled 394 feet.
“That was a big tone-setter,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s 14th career leadoff homer. “I think we feed off of Shohei, certainly at the top of the order. For him to make it a 1-1 game after the first pitch their starter throws certainly gets some life into our offense, and we just took it from there. When he’s going, you can see our offense sort of follows suit.”
Ohtani’s homer sparked a three-run first-inning, and the Dodgers went on to rack up 18 hits, including four by Teoscar Hernández, who drove in four runs to become the major league leader with 31 RBIs, and three by Andy Pages highlighted by an eight-inning home run.
The game was such a blowout, the Dodgers scoring three in the third, four in the sixth and three in the eighth, that both teams finished with position players on the mound: outfielder Javier Sanoja for the Marlins and utility man Kiké Hernández for the Dodgers.
Ohtani is still trying to adjust to fatherhood since the birth of his daughter on April 19, especially the disruption of his sleep schedule. Ohtani likes to get at least 10 hours of sleep a night and take lengthy naps before games.
“A little change in the routine in terms of, for example today I went to the hospital and came straight to the field,” Ohtani said, later telling Japanese writers that it is customary for some Japanese women to spend a week or two in the hospital after giving birth. “Just being here at home is nice to be able to spend time, but on the road, it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge since I won’t be here.
“… But I’m just grateful for the safe delivery. I’m glad that even though I couldn’t sleep as much as I wanted to, it’s a good kind of not-getting-enough-sleep situation.”
