Sarah Wexler, reporting for MLB.com:1I’ve never done a blogging “quote post” like this, but I’m toying with using this blog for a little more than just my Monday updates. We’ll see if it sticks, but I might as well use my own website’s capacity and see how it fits.
After a fervent sweepstakes, reigning American League Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani has agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a record-demolishing 10-year, $700 million deal, according to his agent, Nez Balelo.
This is incredible, ridiculous, and frustrating.
Incredible
No free agent in any sport has ever received a contract worth this much. It’s a huge play by the Dodgers, and a windfall for Ohtani who definitely has nothing to worry about financially. Time will tell whether the deal is good when considering Ohtani as a player long-term, but as a move they can leverage as marketing it’s likely going to pay for itself rapidly. Ohtani is a superstar across the world, particularly in Japan and the United States. Between the merchandise the Dodgers will sell and the butts in seats they’ll get even in the next two seasons, I have to imagine they know it’s worth the investment. If they can make some deep playoff runs, that’ll do even more.
Ridiculous
What the hell, Dodgers? Can you let any other team have a fighting chance? They really are become more like the Yankees than the Yankees in terms of throwing money at problems (while also annoyingly being quite good at developing their own players). The money in this deal is absurd and I can’t imagine being matched by any deal within the next decade.
Frustrating
With the Giants being my second team, it’ll be infuriating how much I’ll want to go to games when the Dodgers are in town so I can see Ohtani play, and it’ll also be infuriating as I sit here along with all the other Giants fans wondering how we can possible compete in the division now. It isn’t actually impossible—baseball is a strange sport, and the Dodgers still haven’t figured out their pitching situation—but boy is it tremendously disheartening at first glance. Why couldn’t he have gone to Toronto?
It’ll also be awful seeing the national networks and MLB fawn over him as a Dodger. It was charming and fun to see Ohtani do his thing in Anaheim because the focus was on the player. He was and is incredible, but it wasn’t part of a juggernaut team that doesn’t seem to have any particularly fun vibe. Now it’ll be in the context of the Dodgers, and MLB will be pushing the Dodgers hard every time they get a chance. I’m going to be sick of it very quickly, even though I’ll still watch every good Ohtani highlight that comes out in the next decade. He’s good, I just wish he could be good on some other team.
- 1I’ve never done a blogging “quote post” like this, but I’m toying with using this blog for a little more than just my Monday updates. We’ll see if it sticks, but I might as well use my own website’s capacity and see how it fits.