Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, 700 million dollar mega contract with the Dodgers, is still busy in LA. Attention is focusing on Ohtani’s every move as the 10-year, 700 million dollar contract is the highest in professional sports history.
First of all, Ohtani reciprocated his new teammate, pitcher Joe Kelly, who allowed him to wear the number 17 that he had been wearing since his days with the Los Angeles Angels. To be exact, he reciprocated his gesture to his wife. Ashley Kelly, Kelly’s wife, launched a campaign dubbed “#ohtake17” on the 9th (Korea Standard Time) that she hopes Ohtani will sign with the Dodgers. 메이저 토토사이트
He wore No. 58 during the St. Louis Cardinals (2012-2014) and No. 56 during the Boston Red Sox (2014-2018). He wore No. 17 after moving to the Dodgers in the second half of 2018, and No. 17 after moving to the Chicago White Sox last year. It was his favorite number that he has worn for more than six years. However, even after signing a one-year, $8 million contract with the Dodgers, his identity number was not disclosed. Ashley expressed her intention to give up her identity by writing down her identity number 99 on her husband Kelly’s back, not 17.
“If Otani continues to play like this, the number I used will be permanently absent. That’s the closest way I can get to the Hall of Fame,” Kelly said, expressing his willingness to give up his number to Ohtani and readily accepting the club’s request.
With Kelly’s concession, Ohtani was able to stand in front of everyone wearing 17 uniforms. In response, Ohtani expressed his gratitude to Kelly. He gave a Porsche car to Kelly’s wife. On Monday (Korea Standard Time), Ashley posted a post on her SNS account that surprised her when she saw a Porsche arriving in front of her house. While watching, her husband Kelly surprised Ashley Kelly, saying, “Shohay wants to give you a Porsche.”
The Dodgers Nation, which deals with Dodgers news, said, “It would be hard to put into words how amazing it is. However, it shows Ohtani’s whole heart. I wanted to express my gratitude to the Kelly family for their hard work in bringing him to Dodgers.”
“There were many questions about what kind of gift he will receive from Ohtani after Kelly gave up No. 17. I don’t know exactly what he asked for, but I think Ohtani wanted it, not Kelly’s request,” he said, praising Ohtani, saying, “Ohtani continues to make waves in the baseball world and tell us how special he is.”
Ohtani also had a meal with Yamamoto. A photo of himself having dinner with Ifei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s interpreter and manager, at a Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, was released. Ohtani and Yamamoto ate at the restaurant of famous Japanese chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, and shared a photo with Ohtani and Yamamoto on Chef Matsuhisa’s SNS.
Ohtani made a historic decision to sign a 10-year, 700-million-dollar super contract, receive only 20 million dollars for 10 years, and 680 million dollars in the future. “The team management thinks the past 10 years is a failure,” Ohtani said as the reason for choosing the Dodgers. “I felt the will to win,” adding, “There was only one team that could say ‘yes’ even though I received offers from several teams. I had a lot of desire to play for the Dodgers. I don’t know how long I will be able to play baseball. The most important thing right now is to go to the winning team.”
He added a clause allowing him to opt-out if Mark Walter sells the club or Andrew Friedman leaves the club because of his desire to win the championship. “It is important for us to go in the same direction. If this collapses, the contract will be over,” he said.
However, Otani was concerned about blocking the flow of funds to the club due to a large contract. I already felt during my time with the Angels that I could not win on my own. Stressing that a top team needs to be built with diverse investments to win a championship, Otani first proposed a postponement of payment to the club. “If the club’s finances become more flexible, even if I receive a little, there is no problem,” he said from the bottom of his heart.
In the end, the Dodgers was able to continue its investment commitment due to its determination to enable Ohtani to mobilize his financial resources. He signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension contract with Tyler Glasnow, whom he acquired through a trade.
After competing with the New York Mets and New York Yankees in the final three rounds, he acquired Yamamoto as a 12-year, $325 million contract, the highest ever contract for a major league pitcher. Yamamoto can receive a full $325 million within the contract period thanks to Ohtani’s payment deferral. The down payment was a staggering $50 million, and an opt-out clause stipulated that he could become a free agent six and nine years later. All of these contracts were made possible thanks to Ohtani.
Immediately after his contract, Ohtani also attended the negotiations and persuaded the Dodgers to join him. Yamamoto, who had always admired Ohtani, was already leaning toward the Dodgers. John Moroshi, a reporter for MLB Network, wrote on his SNS account, “According to sources familiar with the Japanese baseball community, Yamamoto wanted to play with Ohtani as a member of the Dodgers. There was no specific reason.”
Ohtani has yet to play a single game in Dodgers uniform, but he is already a leader. Dodgers has MVP players Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and franchise star Clayton Kershaw, though he has not signed yet. However, Ohtani’s taking care of his teammates and working together can be considered a de facto leader.