Shohei Ohtani: Dodgers Plans To Welcome Him To Hollywood
The team will publicly announce the biggest baseball superstar during a press conference.
The Japanese superstar, Shohei Ohtani, who was a remarkable two-way player who could pitch and bat, signed a free agency contract with the Los Angeles Angels after six seasons. Having outbid the opposition with a 10-year, $700 million contract, the Dodgers are transferring him 30 miles up Interstate 5.
Ohtani hasn’t addressed the media since August 9, which was two weeks before to a pitching injury that necessitated surgery and would prevent him from returning to the mound until 2025. On September 19, he underwent surgery, however details of the procedure were not made public. On October 1, 2018, Ohtani had Tommy John surgery.
With a 39-19 record, a 3.01 ERA, 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings, and a batting average of.274, the two-time AL MVP also has 171 home runs, 437 RBIs, and 86 stolen bases. Using Baseball Reference as a source, Ohtani has a WAR of 34.7.
According to Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly,
“He has that edge where he’s not afraid of any pitcher. That kind of guy—who clearly isn’t frightened and wants to be the star at a big moment—is especially important in the playoffs.”
According to Ohtani’s unique contract, he will be paid an annual salary of $70 million, of which $68 million will be postponed and paid in equal increments on July 1st from 2034 to 2043. This payment schedule will be without interest.
The specifics of the agreement were not disclosed, but the person who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said that he may also choose to back out of it if either president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or controlling owner Mark Walter leaves the organization.
Kelly is opening up No. 17 for Shohei Ohtani by swapping uniform numbers.
“Every year, winning the World Series is our ultimate goal. It helps tremendously to have players who don’t back down in pressure.”
Joe Kelly
