Ten months ago, Shohei Ohtani was being criticized for running the most secretive free agency process in baseball history.
Ten months later, Ohtani is heading to the World Series for the first time, while his unprecedented $700 million contract changed the 2024 season and gave MLB its TV dream of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic.
“I really feel like we finally arrived, I finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said through a translator, after the Dodgers downed the “OMG” New York Mets 4-2 in the National League Championship Series.
“A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win, and it was truly a team effort to get here.”
Ultimately, it all came down to Ohtani, who chose the Dodgers over the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants in December 2023.
The 30-year-old dual threat was in Babe Ruth territory even before he hit .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, 134 runs, a 1.036 OPS and 59 stolen bases, all while lifting the Dodgers back to the World Series.
In the process, Ohtani watched his dog, Decoy, go from a social media mystery to an internet icon.
He was also married in a huge off-the-field move that happily stunned his Dodgers teammates and manager Dave Roberts.
“I’m very happy for him and his bride,” Roberts said. “As far as wedding gifts, we got surprised and didn’t have much time to think about it. I’m sure it’s en route.”
Once the 2024 season is complete, Ohtani is expected to win his third MVP award.
If that happens, he’ll have accomplished another historical rarity by winning MVP for both of Los Angeles’ baseball teams, the Dodgers and Angels.
But at the core of the Dodgers’ 98-64 record this season and $241 million team payroll is Ohtani’s super-unique $700 million contract, which made him the richest athlete in sports history.
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce initially wasn’t a fan of the deal.
“Ohtani signs a $700 million contract with the Dodgers,” Kelce said. “What in the f***? is really going on in this world?
“This man made almost three-quarter of a billion dollars in one day.
“Just went to the other side of LA to play some baseball for the next ten years.”
But Ohtani’s life-changing money was heavily deferred in the same style that Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly has applied with Chelsea in the Premier League.
The majority of Ohtani’s monster $700m deal doesn’t kick in until 2034, and it was his idea to help out the Dodgers a decade before his real pay day.
“I figured if I can defer as much money as I can, if that’s going to help the CBT and that’s going to help the Dodgers be able to sign better players and make a better team, I felt like that was worth it,” Ohtani said.
The Angels regularly disappointed, despite having three-time MVP Mike Trout and Ohtani on the same roster.
The Blue Jays were once considered the favorite to land the native of Oshu, Japan, who holds a career .282 average with 225 home runs and a .945 OPS as a hitter, and is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA as a pitcher.
“Every once in a while, you see a player who was so talented that at some point in his career, they had the luxury of deciding, do I want to be a pitcher, or do I want to be a position player,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.
“It’s really extraordinary to find a human being who can perform at the highest level in Major League Baseball as both a pitcher and a position player.
“It takes courage and fortitude not to make the choice that players traditionally make, and it takes tremendous endurance to do both over the course of what is a gruelling 162-game schedule.”
Before Ohtani chose the Dodgers over the Blue Jays, Angels, Cubs and Giants, little was revealed and some media members criticized the slugger/pitcher for his off-limits secrecy.
But Ohtani was approaching 30 and had never been in the playoffs before, despite drawing annual Ruth comparisons.
The biggest free agency decision in baseball history set up a dream World Series for MLB in 2024.
Ohtani didn’t just want to make the postseason for the first time.
The man with everything, including baseball’s first and only $700 million contract, wanted to win the World Series.
Ohtani realized that simply moving across town represented his best hope of accomplishing his dream.
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