By Cashton Newgaard
America has just been shocked! December 9, 2023, the biggest contract in not just baseball, but in all American sports history was signed by Shoei Ohtani. Imagine
what a person could do with $700 million. That is a huge amount of money. This contract is already becoming one of the hottest topics in baseball history. This two-way player just keeps shattering records and continues to turn heads. As expected, now with the huge signing with his former team’s rivals (The LA Dodgers), Ohtani’s jersey is the hottest on the market. He already had the top selling jersey due to his outstanding 2023 performance, but he is now quickly becoming the face of the MLB and there is a lot more to come.
Ohtani had top tier teams on their toes waiting to make him an offer that couldn’t be refused since the end of the 2023 season. Knowing full well that after the LA Angels fell short of their playoff hopes once again for the 9th straight season, it was time for him to move on. Ironically, repeating their record from the previous season, it was the end of an era for the star player. What way to make it better than to go right down the road to the team they fear most?
What could have been though, California teams were starting to light up the sky. Once again the San Francisco Giants were on the rise and destined for greatness. It was recently reported by the Dodgers team president Farhan Zaidi that shortly after signing with the Dodgers, San Francisco had an offer on the table that was almost identical to the one he accepted. A writer for the magazine, The Athletic, Andrew Baggarly said, “The reasoning behind the Giants not pursuing him with more integrity was that it had become obvious of Ohtani’s comfort with southern California and that it would be too hard to get him to leave.”
The two-way player is dominant on both sides of the ball. He has a hitting record of a whopping 44 home runs off 151 hits. It goes the same way in the field as well, racking up 167 strikeouts. Ohtani is the first player to unanimously win an MVP award twice as a free-agent, and in 2021 becoming the first MLB player to ever win an MVP primarily as a DH (Designated Hitter).
Not only is Ohtani a great ball player, but he is also quite the business man and initiating more shockwaves. The two-time MVP will defer $680 million of a $700 million contract as a result of acquiring more prospects, such as Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto who has been on the San Francisco Giants’ radar for quite some time due to suspicion of a contract that could exceed the $300 million dollar mark and build around him for the next decade. Even though on paper his contract says Ohtani will only be making $2 million a year, he will actually still be making somewhere in the mid-$40 million mark off endorsements, which include being behind the star cover face of the video game MLB The Show in 2022.
In conclusion, Ohtani’s decision to sign with the seven-time World Series champs was a very smart move on his part; they are a hot topic of the MLB and adding him to the lineup will only extend their dynasty that they have formed for years to come. The MLB and the fans that surround it are all excited to see where his career goes and are along for the ride. One thing is for certain, opening day is highly anticipated and it is a great time to be a Dodgers fan.
Cashton Newgaard is a student at Spring Grove High School. He is one of 13 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 25th year.
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