Jon Rahm spent two days atop the sport’s contract rankings. A baseball player dethroned him by signing a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the next 10 years. This is Shohei Ohtani, a strange athlete. For starters He is an outstanding baseball player who can perform equally well as both a hitter and a pitcher. That makes it a “unicorn” Which explains the Dodgers’ effort to tie him up for the next decade. But Shohei is much more unique.
Sustainability before profit
Ohtani, 29, during negotiation of an unusually long contract He cared more about the sporting health and sustainability of his new team than his savings account. In fact, he was particularly interested in the details of the team’s playing system and club structure, indicating the Japanese’s interest in stabilizing his team as a play-off team and ensuring a place in the title challenge at the end of the league. next ten years.
He prioritized it so much that He worked out with his agent Nez Balelo the best formula to not mortgage the Dodgers and free them up on the market. Therefore, he proposed a deferred payment model that would reduce the huge impact of his contract on the franchise. especially in case of tax. A model that cuts that number by nearly half per year and allows the Dodgers to sign him; knowing that this will also automatically increase revenue and brand value and collect half of the money they pay him every year.
The Dodgers have been trying to sign Ohtani for a decade. They tried in 2012, when he graduated high school and signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters. They tried again in 2017, jumping from Japan to the United States and signing with a team like the Angels where they gave him freedom of movement. At the time, the Dodgers cleared space on their roster of ‘heavy’ contracts to try to sign Ohtani.
A few days ago, half the United States took it for granted that he would sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Dodgers continued to think that Ohtani was born to wear their jersey, after so many years of fighting for his signature. A meeting of the Dodgers’ operations and business teams ultimately convinced team owner and president Mark Walter that making a massive push for Ohtani was the right thing to do. The input they received in the business model simulations they would explore with their hypothetical signing made it clear that this was a ‘planetary’ signing, a transnational player. Ohtani is known for many sculptures in Japan. These include a giant snowflake displayed at the Sapporo Snow Festival 2023, which attracted more than two million participants.
But it’s a marriage of convenience because Shohei won’t find a better opportunity to look into the world of baseball. The 2020-2021 Dodgers are considered the best team in baseball history, ahead of the 1927 New York Yankees, 1976 Reds and even the 1998 Yankees. Now with Ohtani, no one knows what the team’s ceiling will be.
Shohei wore number 17 during his seven years with the Anaheim Angels, earning a two-time MVP, three-time silver bat and rookie of the year with the number on his back. But on the Dodgers, that trick is used by pitcher Joe Kelly, who is under contract through 2024. The team approached him about giving the number to Ohtani, and Kelly said, “It would be an honor to change the number and give it to him.” Shohei.”
The Chosen One is a two-dimensional actor
When Ohtani graduated from high school, his manager Hideki Kuriyama confirmed that he was being courted by the Dodgers, Red Sox, Rangers and Oriols. Eventually Kuriyama convinced him to sign with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters and begin “an uncharted path”.You will be the first person to walk a path that no one has walked before. You will be the first player to bat and shoot interchangeably. “Chosen one”. Ohtani accepted the challenge of being a two-dimensional player (shooter and spiker) knowing that big teams in MLS prefer specialists. And he began to forge his own path, guided by Kuriyama, who gave him a T-shirt that read “Dreams come true.”
Shohei’s dream came true because he ended up playing in the American MLB, especially for the Angels, whom he endorsed. Over the last three seasons, he has been the best player in the league (and the world) with his extraordinary versatility that has allowed him to rank in the top 3 among hitters, runners and pitchers. It’s a statistic that justifies the Dodgers’ spending for the next decade. And out of a desire to make him feel comfortable, there is talk of the Dodgers being interested in hiring Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the ‘Reiwa Monster’ Roki Sasaki should they decide to leave Japan. Two players Ohtani knows well.
A shoulder surgery will prevent Shohei from starting pitching in 2024, so there is skepticism among pundits that he will feature in rotations as a pitcher in his first season with the Dodgers. But there is no doubt about his new team: “Shohei is a player who will show all his magic with the Dodgers. He is the best in the world at our sport and someone who transcends baseball. Here’s why.” Bringing in Ohtani is an investment beyond a signing. “Best investment in Dodger history.”