RSS Feed

Tech Support

Finally, the destination of Shohei Otani (29) was decided. Ohtani, who played for the LA Angels, is heading to the LA Dodgers. He personally announced the news of his transfer to the LA Dodgers and greeted baseball fans around the world.

On the morning of the 10th (Korean time), Shohei Otani posted the LA Dodgers' logo on his personal SNS (social network service) and said, "I apologize to all fans and all officials in the baseball world for taking so long to make a decision. “To all the fans and everyone involved in the baseball world, I apologize for taking so long to come to a decision,” he said. “I have decided to choose the Dodgers as the next team I will play for.” “Dodgers as my next team,” he said.

He continued, "First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the LA Angels team officials, the fans who supported me over the past six years, and the officials of each team who participated in this negotiation process. He expressed his sincerity, saying, “gratitude to everyone involved with the Angels organization and the fans who have supported me over the past six years, as well as to everyone involved with each team that was part of this negotiation process.”

Ohtani did not particularly forget the LA Angels fans he had been a part of. Ohtani said, "I'm especially grateful to the LA Angels fans who supported me through the good times and the bad times. Your support and encouragement meant the world to me. (Especially to the Angels fans who supported me through all the ups and downs.) , your guys' support and cheer meant the world to me)", he said in a heart-warming farewell. Ohtani promised, "The six years I spent with the Angels will remain etched in my heart forever."

Meanwhile, Ohtani delivered a greeting to the new LA Dodgers fans. Ohtani said, "And to all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what's best for the team. And to all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what's best for me." He promised again, “the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself.”

Ohtani said, "Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world." )" and "There are some things that cannot be conveyed in writing, so I would like to talk more about these things through a press conference in the future. (There are some things that cannot be conveyed in writing, so I would like to talk more “about this again at a later press conference. Thank you very much,” he said.

n the end, Ohtani's final choice was the LA Dodgers. The size of his contract amounts to a whopping $700 million (about KRW 924 billion). Major American media outlets, including MLB.com, the official website of the American Major League Baseball, The New York Times, and The Athletic, all reported on the same day that "Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers." This is the largest contract in North American professional sports history.

It is also reported that 'the deferrals', in which the club pays some of the salary at a later date, is included. If you sign a dipper contract, the club can relieve the financial burden because it does not pay a large amount of salary all at once. Since there is no interest, considering that the value of money increases over time, the club can save a large amount of money in the long run. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said, “Ohtani deal with Dodgers, per source, includes “unprecedented” deferrals - the majority of his salary, according to sources. "The deferrals were Ohtani's idea to ease the Dodgers' luxury-tax and cash flow burdens to give the team competitiveness while relieving the Los Angeles Dodgers of the luxury-tax and cash flow burdens with the Dipper contract," he said. “This was what Ohtani came up with. Also, since there is no opt-out in this contract, Ohtani will now play for the LA Dodgers for 10 years,” he explained. This is the part where you can feel Otani’s sincerity in thinking about the team.

Initially, according to local American media, it was predicted that the team trying to recruit Ohtani would spend up to $600 million. However, the LA Dodgers captured Ohtani's heart by offering an unprecedented offer of $700 million, which was much more than that amount.

Shohei Ohtani (right) and Kenta Maeda of the Dodgers are having a conversation. /AFPBBNews=News1
Otani, from Mizusawa City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, made his professional debut with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013. Although he initially could have advanced to the major leagues after graduating from high school, Otani chose the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team. This was because the Nippon Ham Fighters announced their intention to actively support Ohtani’s dual career of pitching and batting. It was a different move from other clubs, who mostly wanted Ohtani as a pitcher. Afterwards, Otani dominated the Japanese stage. In the 2013 season, his first year with the team, Ohtani pitched a total of 61⅔ innings in 13 games, recording 3 wins, no losses, and an earned run average of 4.32. In addition, he participated in 77 games as a batter, posting a batting average of 0.238 (45 hits), 3 home runs, 20 RBI, 14 runs, 12 walks, 64 strikeouts, 4 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of 0.284, a slugging percentage of 0.376, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.660.

The following year, in the 2014 season, he achieved 10 wins as a pitcher and 10 home runs as a batter, opening the beginning of the legend of both pitching and batting. That year, Ohtani performed well as a pitcher with 11 wins, 4 losses, and an ERA of 2.61 in 24 games. In 155⅓ innings, he allowed 125 hits (7 home runs), walked 57, and struck out 179. Also, as a batter, in 87 games, he recorded a batting average of 0.274 (58 hits), 10 home runs, 31 RBI, 32 runs, 21 walks, 48 ​​strikeouts, an on-base percentage of 0.338, a slugging percentage of 0.505, and an OPS of 0.842.

Ohtani's performance continued in the 2015 season. He had a career-high season as a pitcher in the 2015 season with 15 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 2.24. He achieved an overwhelming performance of 100 hits (7 home runs), 46 walks, and 196 strikeouts in 160⅔ innings. He won three crowns by ranking first in most wins, earned run average, and winning percentage. Also, as a batter, in 70 games, he had a batting average of 0.202 (22 hits), 5 home runs, 17 RBI, 15 runs, 8 walks, 43 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of 0.252, a slugging percentage of 0.376, and an OPS of 0.628. And in the 2016 season, he showed great success as a pitcher and hitter, leading the team to victory in the Japan Series along with being named MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the regular season. In the 2016 season, as a pitcher, he had 10 wins, 4 losses, 1 hold, and an ERA of 1.86 in 21 games. As a batter, he had a brilliant record of 0.322 batting average (104 hits), 22 home runs, 67 RBI, 65 runs, and 0.416 on-base percentage, 0.588 slugging percentage, and 1.004 OPS in 104 games. He was the first player in Japanese professional baseball history to have the honor of being selected as one of the best nine in two positions: pitcher and designated hitter.

Ohtani, who performed his best on the Japanese stage, announced his intention to advance to the Major League ahead of the 2017 season. At the time, ahead of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (wBC), Ohtani expressed his determination, saying, "My goal is to become the best player in the world." Ultimately, Otani ended the 2017 season as a pitcher for five seasons in Japan, with 42 wins, 15 losses, 1 hold, an ERA of 2.52 (total of 543 innings), 384 hits (24 home runs), 200 walks, 624 strikeouts, WHIP (on base allowed per inning) of 1.09, and as a hitter. In 403 games, he left for the major leagues with a batting average of 0.286 (296 hits), 48 home runs, 166 RBI, 150 runs, 70 doubles, 4 triples, 316 strikeouts, an on-base percentage of 0.358, a slugging percentage of 0.500, and an OPS of 0.858.

https://shorturl.at/jKLS6