Roberts loves this aspect of his new two-way superstar

The Los Angeles Dodgers are all-in for 2024. They’ve put their money where their mouth is, and are proving the only thing that matters right now is winning, specifically come October.

Granted, that’s always been the standard for L.A. Add two superstars and spend more than $1 billion on them, the stakes grow higher.

The Dodgers’ addition of Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million contract signaled they are all-in on winning a championship. Ohtani’s talent is a no-brainer, as is his leadership and his drive to want to win. However, there’s another aspect that will be the driving force that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has realized, and that is his “uber-competitiveness.”

In a recent interview with Dan Patrick, Roberts said he didn’t appreciate Ohtani’s competitiveness before the Dodgers’ free agent recruitment process began in earnest.

“This guy is so uber-competitive,” Roberts said. “You know the humility’s there, you know the talent’s there. But I really didn’t appreciate the real drive.”

(per Dave Roberts via The Dan Patrick Show)

Unfortunately for Ohtani, he hasn’t had a chance to win on a big stage in Major League Baseball. The baseball world was able to see it during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and it was quite the spectacle.

Ohtani’s emotion and drive when playing for a championship-caliber team was special. He willed Team Japan to a victory over Team USA in the championship.

Now, in his first opportunity to pick a new team since 2017, Ohtani made his desires clear when he chose the Dodgers. Their commitment to winning made all the difference.