✹The PERENNIAL Shohei Ohtani Thread✹

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by crownand

12-8-23. I’ll never forget this day!!

The day Kikuchi reserved an entire restaurant full of sushi for a random Canadian businessman!

[Funkster]

Dumbest day in hot stove baseball that i can recall.

[KhalDrogo]

If Ohtani signs elsewhere, I can’t fathom how bad the Bbases trolling of Blue Jays fans will be.

[Funkster]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYB6ZSwdrvM

[BBases31]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

If Ohtani signs elsewhere, I can’t fathom how bad the Bbases trolling of Blue Jays fans will be.

Naw, I'm rooting for the Jays to sign him if it's really down to them and the Dodgers. I'm a Braves fan, definitely don't need him on the Dodgers

[Ferg1945]

It's time for this circus to end.

It was a circus 3 days ago.... today was beyond stupid.

Pick a freaking team already.

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

All of this acting like people know what Ohtani wants is hilarious to me. "He wants to win", "he wants global marketing", "he wants to have the freedom to play how he wants". Nobody knows. That's the point of all of this and why there's so much speculation about everything. Shohei's said so little about anything and that's part of the reason this is such a spectacle. You can act like you know what he's looking for, but only he does

Angels fans know as we've followed him for longer than 2 years unlike people in this thread...and don't have any wishful thinking related to card prices. The only reason there's speculation is losers in sports media have nothing else to talk about. Journalism died years ago. You can see they openly resent him for having some professionalism and class...foreign concepts to many of them.

I've maintained for over a year the Angels are the favorite to re-sign him and here we are...Angels and who knows. The reason? His unique personality and upbringing. Guy could have lived anywhere along the beach in Laguna or Newport, and he's been living in an apartment near the stadium (in Anaheim) because he wants to play baseball all day. He's not some mercenary like Correa or others who are chasing money. You think he needs money? He's the most recognizable face in Japan...he will be fine. Would he give up millions to stay where he's comfortable? Yep, it's a foreign concept to Americans, but the Japanese value honor, respect, and loyalty. The Angels were the only squad who gave him a chance to hit and pitch, and they've stuck by him after two serious injuries.

Maybe he won't re-sign, but it's not a mystery they are in the final 2 despite not having much on-field success. Shohei understands what is going on around him, and it's not like the Angels haven't tried to win, like say Oakland or others. Arte handed out some bad contracts, tying their hands, and many players have under performed (El Burro Rendon), or been injured (Mike Trout). Angels hired his personal pitching coach from Driveline to help him, and he won his second MVP.

Originally Posted by Melagoo

... you probably waited all day to post this ... people were excited at the probability of a Mega star joining their team and sure a few things go side ways but man you must be a load of fun at parties ...

Loving the absolute face plant from Toronto media...some of the biggest scoundrels on earth who push nothing but half-truths and outright lies.

At least we don't have to hear about how many more "Asians" are in Toronto than California...

[pezzicle]

Originally Posted by Melagoo

... you probably waited all day to post this ... people were excited at the probability of a Mega star joining their team and sure a few things go side ways but man you must be a load of fun at parties ...

toronto lives rent free in so many non torontians heads

its comical if not a little sad

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by Ferg1945

It's time for this circus to end.

It was a circus 3 days ago.... today was beyond stupid.

Pick a freaking team already.

I think he's just trying to drive up the price for the Dodgers. They may be calling his bluff by holding firm.

[pezzicle]

Originally Posted by cholodolo

At least we don't have to hear about how many more "Asians" are in Toronto than California...

no one said that but solid job just making stuff up

[Trueblue]

If I was Sho reading this thread, I'd just re-up with the Angels

[fabiani12333]

I come here for the fake news and unsupported claims of Asian population statistics.

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by pezzicle

no one said that but solid job just making stuff up

I mean...citing any ethnic group/race thing as a reason for him to choose to play baseball anywhere is cringe. But to deny...even worse. If you've learned anything today, I hope it is that "Asians" are not a homogeneous group...and Ohtani is Japanese.

Originally Posted by njsportscardguy

Large[r] Japanese/Asian presence in Toronto,...

Originally Posted by pezzicle

LA population is about 12% Asian. Toronto population is about 30% Asian, with about 13% Japanese/Korean. The Asian community here in Toronto is massive.

[hxcmilkshake]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

I come here for the fake news and unsupported claims of Asian population statistics.

This thread IS delivering

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[anusinha]

OMG!!!! Someone just rented a Limo from Anaheim to Los Angeles! The only thing this could be is Ohtani driving to the Dodgers front office!!!

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by cholodolo

I mean...citing any ethnic group/race thing as a reason for him to choose to play baseball anywhere is cringe. But to deny...even worse. If you've learned anything today, I hope it is that "Asians" are not a homogeneous group...and Ohtani is Japanese.

You can tell who's been in Orange County vs who hasnt

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by anusinha

OMG!!!! Someone just rented a Limo from Anaheim to Los Angeles! The only thing this could be is Ohtani driving to the Dodgers front office!!!

If people were slick, they'd be tracking Ippei and not Shohei to keep a lower profile.

Originally Posted by anusinha

You can tell who's been in Orange County vs who hasnt

LOL, right. Best sushi is in Costa Mesa, even Michelin agrees.

[Bcr]

It's going to be hilarious when after all this he resigns with the Angels.

[theshowandme]

Shohei needs to think about those who liquidated retirement accounts to buy his cards

[fabiani12333]

If Ohtani just wanted to stay with the Angels, couldn't he have signed a massive extension instead of reaching free agency? He had crazy leverage and value going into last season. He rolled the dice and his pitching elbow gave out for a second time.

It seems like such a roundabout way to go about getting a new deal.

[Trueblue]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Shohei needs to think about those who liquidated retirement accounts to buy his cards

You joke, but I have been slurping up rare cards from people who bought in May-July 2023, now can't pay bills, and are offloading for 60 cents on the dollar (from initial purchase), which is probably 85 cents on the dollar with current valuation. It's crazy, great, and scary at the same time.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

If Ohtani just wanted to stay with the Angels, couldn't he have signed a massive extension instead of reaching free agency? He had crazy leverage and value going into last season. He rolled the dice and his pitching elbow gave out for a second time.

It seems like such a roundabout way to go about getting a new deal.

In Free Agency he can play teams off of each other like, say, Toronto, to maximize his deal. No way the Angels would have just offered him a $600m extension.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

In Free Agency he can play teams off of each other like, say, Toronto, to maximize his deal. No way the Angels would have just offered him a $600m extension.

Uh, why not? He is a historic player. He was underpaid while being the best player in baseball. Arte Moreno was shopping the team earlier this year -- locking up Shotani would have boosted the value of the team.

[BBases31]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

In Free Agency he can play teams off of each other like, say, Toronto, to maximize his deal. No way the Angels would have just offered him a $600m extension.

There's no doubt they've offered him $600+ million. The final number will be over 600 for sure if it the contract takes him through the rest of his playing career

[cholodolo]

Again, most of us paying attention knew this would happen and aren't freaking out.

Agent says Shohei Ohtani has right to explore free agency

Feb 20, 2023

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Shohei Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, has been consistently coy about his client's contract status, but he hinted Monday at something many in the industry had long assumed -- that Ohtani will probably explore free agency, even if it does ultimately result in him returning to the Los Angeles Angels.

Balelo, who works for CAA Sports, was asked Monday if he'd be open to negotiating an extension for Ohtani during spring training.

"I've always been open to it," Balelo said. "But there's several layers to this one, and Shohei's earned the right to play through the year, explore free agency, and we'll see where it shakes out."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...re-free-agency