Shohei has no regrets.
Shohei Ohtani hit free agency this past winter, sparking an unprecedented bidding battle. After refusing to trade him last season despite falling behind in the playoff race, one would expect the Los Angeles Angels to go all out to keep him, but in the end, it was the Angels’ crosstown rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who secured Ohtani’s services on a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract.
Ohtani is now set to return to Angel Stadium in Anaheim before of the Dodgers’ two-game series against the Angels. This will be the 30-year-old Japanese international’s first return to his old stomping grounds as an opposition member, so the excitement surrounding these games is building.
Ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s return to his MLB home from 2018 to 2023, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times asked him about his overall thoughts on the Angels’ decision not to match the Dodgers’ offer, as well as what his decision would have been if his former team had decided to break the bank and keep him.
“Rather than focusing on what the Angels did or did not do, I’m grateful to the teams that rated me highly,” Ohtani stated in his home language. “In truth, the Angels did not make me an offer, so I’m not sure if I would have stayed. In truth, I’m doing my best to win the World Series. I suppose I’m okay with that.”
Indeed, there are no indications that Shohei Ohtani made the incorrect move by signing with the Dodgers. The Dodgers club has been one of the most well-run over the last decade or so, and they have always been in the World Series conversation — something that the Angels cannot say despite having two of this generation’s best players in Ohtani and Trout.
Ohtani has previously stated that one of his primary aims as a professional baseball player is to win the World Series. Being with the Dodgers gives him an excellent opportunity of attaining his ambition. And the Angels simply made his decision to walk away easier by not putting out their best effort in contract discussions.
Shohei Ohtani has been every bit as good as advertised for the Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani’s capacity to be a star on both the batting and pitching sides of baseball is one of his most valuable assets, which has earned him the most expensive contract in professional sports history. That makes him an outlier talent, a player who is MVP-caliber even when one aspect of the game is taken away from him.
Ohtani had to give up pitching for the whole 2024 season after ripping a ligament in his elbow, but he has remained one of the most valued players in the MLB due to his extraordinary productivity at the plate and on the bases.
Ohtani has 44 home runs and 98 RBIs this season, as well as a career-high 43 stolen bases. He presently has the second-best OPS of his career (.991) and is striking out fewer than he has in the past. Imagine how crucial he’ll be to the Dodgers when he returns to the mound next season.
