Meet Baby Shohei? These parents named their children after Dodger players

Although the Dodgers are forever etched in baseball history, some parents are making extra sure that they will dominate in the future as well – by naming their children the boys in blue.

“In 10 years, about 250 Mexican children will have to explain why they named Shohei Rodriguez.” A viral post on X After Shoai Ohtani hit three home runs, pitched six shutout innings and struck out 10 Brewers in the NLCS-clinching game. The prediction might not be so far-fetched: Nameberry, the world’s largest baby-naming site, saw a 1,000% increase in searches for the name Shohei this week alone.

From Shohei Ohtani to Clayton Kershaw to Freddie Freeman—all have named themselves inspirations. And who knows? With the Dodgers about to cement their legacy with a potential third title in six years, this baby boom may be in its infancy. Here, parents share their kids’ Dodgers-inspired names — and the stories behind them.

Freddy Berglund

Named after Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman

The Legend of Freddie Freeman Walk off Grand Salam Game 1 of the 2024 World Series was so powerful for the Dodgers that it prompted the dude to make his world debut a few weeks ago.

“Later [Freeman] hit the grand slam, we probably had a couple of minutes of celebration, and then my water broke,” Freddie’s mother Jessica Berglund said.

Freddie, legally named Frederick, was born after the legendary moment that helped the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Jessica and Eric Berglund, who live near Orange where Freeman grew up, are star-crossed fans in MLB terms, with Jessica cheering on the Dodgers’ blue and Eric on the Angels. But the meaning behind the name Freddie extends beyond the field and competition.

“We really look up to Freddie [Freeman] As a person, not just as a baseball player,” Jessica said. “So it’s not just the love of the game and the team. It’s really about loving Freddie as an individual.

Baby Freddy turns 1 on Sunday, and at his baseball-themed birthday party, he’ll be Family Rookie of the Year.

Alita Henny Yang

Named after Shahi Otani

Eight months pregnant, Emma Chiu couldn’t wait for the end of her childhood CPR class to let her husband, Daniel Yang, know that Shai Ohtani was signing with the Dodgers. As soon as she threw the phone at his face, Yang’s excitement overcame his emotions and he completely forgot that he was in class.

The couple, who live in San Diego, have followed Ohtani’s career since he played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Warriors in Japan’s professional baseball league. When he signed with the Angels in 2018, Yang, an LA native, frantically went to games with his wife to capture their favorite player on the diamond.

Taking a cue from a CPR class, they toyed with the idea of ​​giving their soon-to-be-born daughter a middle name inspired by one of their boys in blue, while also paying homage to their Korean and Taiwanese cultural backgrounds. What they did was to use the last syllables of Ohtani’s first and last name to create Haini (pronounced Hi-nee), which they used for their daughter’s middle name.

The name seemed fitting. “It’s like fate,” Yang said.

jack

Named after Jackie Robinson

Growing up as a Dodgers fan in Modesto, an area specifically designed for the San Francisco Giants, had its rough moments for Ryan Seay.

“A couple of sodas were sipped while walking across the parking lot because of my Dodgers gear,” he said.

Still, when it came time to name his son, he knew he wanted to honor the team he loved. At first, he leaned on Clayton Kershaw, the left-handed two-time World Series champion pitcher, but decided against it after he read a Reddit post about the dangers of naming a baby after a living man. (“You don’t know where they’re going to go in their lives,” Ryan explained.)

So instead, he decided to name his son Jack Jackie Robinson. Every time Ryan starts telling his Norkel friends the story of the Dodgers-inspired name, he hears screams. But attitudes change when they hear the name pay homage to Robinson, the Hall of Famer who broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

Of Robinson, Ryan said, “Fundamentally, he will always be the ballplayer, the most important ballplayer, the one whose number is retired internationally. And the only one, in my opinion, whose number should ever be retired like that.”

Clayton Wasser

Named after Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw could Retirementbut his name lives on in history — and through 9-year-old Clayton Wasser.

According to Clayton’s father, Jeremy, the kid comes from “the great Kershaw house,” and they will all be happy as Dodgers. Take on the Toronto Blue Jays Kershaw’s final season in the World Series.

Jeremy and his wife Michelle have long been in awe of Kershaw’s personality and success, both on and off the field.

“He’s very impressive as an individual,” Jeremy said. “I mean, his accomplishments on the field speak for themselves. But then, you know, we’ve also followed him, his philanthropic career … and he’s always represented the city and the team with class and dignity.”

Clayton Wasser, whose older brother Harrison plays baseball, showed great interest in playing football, but would still ask, “Am I playing tonight?” During the Dodgers’ playing days, his father says.

Francesca Mucci Mancuso

Named after Mookie Betts

Sometimes a home run can be more than just a statistic. In the case of Giuseppe Mancuso, a dinger by Mookie Bates literally named his daughter.

In 2023, Mancuso began talking to Bates while he was on deck. It was the first time they ever exchanged words, but the man from the stands promised the infielder that he would name his daughter Mookie if he hit a homer.

“I turned around and told him, ‘No, don’t do that, man,'” Bates said in telling his story on The X Post. “Your wife won’t like it.”

During his plate appearance against then-Oakland A’s pitcher Hogan Harris, Bates hit a pitch for a 436-foot home run. At the time, the long ball was his furthest hit as a Dodger. After scoring the bases, Bates struck out Mancuso, and that was that.

Weeks later, Betts chimed in with a tweet that read: “Hi @Dodgers @mookiebetts @SportsNetLA is a bet. Meet Francesca Mookie Mancuso with a newborn photo and her birth certificate.”

“Shout out to you, Giuseppe, I can’t wait to meet Francesca,” Bates said in his video.

Talk about taking a long shot.