Shohei Ohtani impending agency: Flight trackers and contradicting reports cause chaos on Friday
At the conclusion of the week, one of the most coveted free agent signing in recent memory reached a fever pitch, with MLB fans believing that Travis Ohtani was going to sign a deal with the Blue Jays of Toronto for the whole day.
The day was incredibly perplexing, filled with contradictory news and false information. Weeks have passed while fans and numerous other MLB free agents have awaited Ohtani’s signature on what is expected to be the biggest contract is league history.
Earlier in the week, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, and Blue Jays were all thought to be the finalists; however, none of them were able to complete a deal for Ohtani as they concluded the Winter Meetings.
The fact that Friday marked the six-year anniversary of Ohtani’s choice to sign with the Angels of Los Angeles and play in his Major League Baseball debut lends credence to the notion that the day was noteworthy, according to some observers.
It at least supported the theory that Ohtani might have made this decision on a comparable period.
The same topic kept coming up among those in attendance at this week’s Major League Baseball winter meetings at the Gaylord Opryland: Which team will sign Shohei Ohtani?
Ohtani’s choice will determine the offseason for one team. It is going to propel their markets forward at last for other notable free agents. It could alter Taro Abe’s course in life.
Reporter Abe of Chunichi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, is assigned to cover Ohtani’s free-agency developments around the clock, but her job is not limited to that.
The two-way star’s family, which includes his wife and 9-year-old daughter, would probably have to relocate from their Irvine home if he decided not to sign up for the Dodgers or Angels.
After moving to the United States to cover Ohtani at the beginning of the 2022 season, Abe remarked, “I talked to my boss, and assuming Ohtani goes to Toronto, Chicago, or another city, I think I’m going to move.” “I am 80–90% certain.”
It is not just Abe. If Ohtani signs with another team, Nikkan Sports News writer Nobuhiro Saito would relocate from Torrance.
Reporter Akiyuki Shiraishi of Kyodo News stated that there is a “50/50” chance he will have to vacate his Irvine residence.
The reporters, whose professions require them to be away from home for the most of the year, are prepared to uproot their lives without the promise of life-changing money, even as Ohtani is likely to sign the largest contract is North American sports history without a franchise of his choosing.
It’s just one more peculiarity related to Ohtani’s covert free-agent procedure. As they have in Anaheim, scores of reporters will follow Ohtani wherever he ends up to document the next phase of his baseball career.
Abe, 45, stated, “Ohtani is necessary.” “He plays baseball, but that’s not all. He’s a famous rock star. Swifty and Justin Bieber. Both young and elderly adore him. Everyone discusses Ohtani on a daily basis.
Before relocating to the US, 35-year-old Shiraishi covered Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan for ten years.
In order to concentrate on tracking Ohtani’s every move while playing for the Angels for the last two seasons, he moved to Irvine early 2022 with his family.
He claimed to have begun looking at apartments in Toronto, Chicago, and San Francisco, among other cities that Ohtani may want to visit.
He believes that before his 6-year-old kid graduates from first grade, his family will relocate to the new city in March.
Shiraishi remarked, “My company said maybe I’ll go, but it’s very costly, very expensive.” Therefore, we must decide if moving is worthwhile or if it would be better to just make excursions.
Moving to a place wherein Shohei is going is an honor. Perhaps a player as exceptional as this Japanese player will never come along again. Thus, it’s a privilege.
For almost sixty minutes on Friday afternoon, it seemed as though famed pitcher and DH Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels might be joining the Toronto Blue Jays. We simply don’t know yet, but he might still wind up working for the group.
The rumors that started as amateur aircraft trackers and unconfirmed videos of Ohtani at an airport terminal gained traction when it was said that the freed agent was headed to Toronto, even though Ohtani’s agent refuted the claims.