Dodgers Interview: Roberts “has the best seat in the house” for Ohtani Debut
"We've All Been Waiting for This Moment"
LOS ANGELES — Sunday’s 5–4 win over the Giants may have been a crucial division victory for the Dodgers, but much of the buzz at Chavez Ravine after the game had little to do with standings. For the first time since signing with the team, it was announced that Shohei Ohtani would be taking the mound in a Dodgers uniform. Like, tomorrow. And no one was more eager—or measured—about the moment than manager Dave Roberts.
“There should be a lot of excitement, certainly anticipation,” Roberts said before Monday’s series opener with the Padres. “We’re all waiting to see what it looks like. He’s ready. He’s adamant. He feels good, strong, ready to pitch in a major league game.”
The outing marked Ohtani’s first time pitching in a game setting since undergoing elbow surgery last year. While Roberts didn’t specify how long the two-way superstar would stay on the mound, he made clear that tonight was more about observation than performance. “How he looks will determine how long he goes,” Roberts explained. “The pitch count, how he feels after the inning—this is uncharted territory for us.”
What was Roberts looking for? “Just the command—armside, how his delivery looks, stress, repeatability,” he said. “There’s going to be some adrenaline. You might not see it overtly from him, but we’ll be watching.”
The magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on the manager. Ohtani not only started the game but also hit leadoff, a move Roberts said he ran by the star in advance. “There was thought to not having him hit, but I ran it by him and he said, ‘No problem. I’m good with it.’ He feels very comfortable taking the mound and then coming into the dugout to get ready for his at-bats.”
Behind the scenes, Roberts said Ohtani has driven much of the process. “It’s more of, ‘I’m ready to go. What else do I need to do to get on a major league mound?’” Roberts said. “So, you’ve got to hear the player and trust the player.”
That trust, of course, comes with boundaries. Roberts said they’ll continue to be cautious with Ohtani’s pitching workload. “It’s not going to be a once-every-five-days situation. There’s going to be plenty of time to recover. We’re still gathering information.”
As for Ohtani’s base running—a hallmark of his aggressive style last season—Roberts acknowledged a noticeable change. “He hasn’t run a whole lot this last month,” Roberts said. “There have been opportunities where last year he would’ve certainly taken a chance, but he hasn’t. I think he’s smart enough to know to kind of curtail some of the tax on the body.”
The excitement among teammates has also been palpable. Roberts noted that several players found out Saturday that Ohtani would pitch, and the buzz spread quickly. “He’s the best player on the planet,” Roberts said. “We all marvel at it. We’re baseball fans first, and just to see a teammate take this on—the physical, the talent, the psychology—it’s a big undertaking. He’s a unicorn.”
The plan going forward will be flexible, but the principles will remain constant: protect Ohtani’s health, maximize his impact, and don’t let the player push too far, too fast. “We’re going to try to leave him wanting for more,” Roberts said. “That’s always the goal.”
With a division rival like the Padres coming into town and playoff positioning on the line, the timing of Ohtani’s return couldn’t be more dramatic. Roberts, for one, was soaking it all in. “I saw it from the other side with the Angels,” he said, smiling. “Now I’ve got the best seat in the house. This is bananas.”
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