Biggest competition at Dodgers camp is prank war between Shohei Ohtani and Dave Roberts

Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ brand-new superstar Shohei Ohtani compiled stunning numbers on his path to becoming the first ever DH-only MVP. Without a doubt, Ohtani’s 50-50 run brought much joy to Dodger fans everywhere. But unbeknownst to fans, this only scratched the surface of the joy taking place behind the scenes in the clubhouse.

As it turns out, Ohtani’s dedication to the game is matched only by his giddy, jovial attitude; the likes of which can only be satisfied after causing humorous mischief aimed at the boss in his dugout. It all started early last season.

At the time, Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts held the longstanding record for home runs by a Japanese-born player while wearing Dodger blue. But after acquiring Ohtani, it was a record that wouldn’t last much longer. Before breaking the record, the newly minted Dodgers’ slugger informed Roberts he had bought him a new car that would be his to keep after the record was broken.

That day came on May 11. Ohtani’s eighth home run of the season soared gracefully over the center right-field wall at Dodger Stadium passing Robert’s Dodger total of seven. After the game, Ohtani delivered Roberts’ car to his office. To the skipper’s surprise, it was a toy model Porsche.

Both Ohtani and Roberts shared a laugh; Ohtani’s prank was seemingly a hit. But the Dodgers’ manager didn’t forget. He would strike back; maybe not that season, maybe not even that year. But there would eventually be some form of retribution for being duped. That day came on Friday.

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Dave Roberts strikes back in Shohei Ohtani prank war

On Friday night, Ohtani walked into the parking lot only to find his car had been turned into a ball pit. Upon opening the door, a colorful array of plastic balls with pictures of Roberts flooded on to the parking lot pavement. Sitting in the driver’s seat was one large ball plus a picture of Dave Roberts laughing. Roberts offered his thoughts on payback in video form with Ohtani’s reaction:

By all appearances, cleaning up the parking lot was a blast. It is said that in war, there are no winners. However, in this case, that is not true. Ohtani later shared a video of the real winner of the prank war: his dog Decoy.