Well, well, well......Shohei Ohtani made his long awaited decision and in the most predictable way, he is going back to Southern California.....but with the Dodgers. He has also signed a contract that was predictable......10 years, $700 million. Eh, boy, that's a lot of clams. Everyone knew that Shohei was getting the richest contract in North American sports history. Also, everyone knew the Dodgers would be in the mix to get him. Now, that both provisions have been met, everyone can relax and wait till Spring Training starts to see his anticipated debut in Dodger Blue. If only it were that easy.
Some elements of this signing will have some ramifications. For starters, Shohei has agreed to defer his payments so he can be paid $2 million during the ten years and then get $68 million a year after that. When the man retires, he is going to be rich. Is this illegal? Nope. Will everyone associated with baseball be up-in-arms about it? Hell yes. It will cause chaos about how the rich franchises get richer and the poor get poorer. This contract just set the standard. Many will talk about a salary cap in MLB. This is a complicated issue that would cause me to go through sleepless nights to figure out, so i don't want to do that. The hoopla of the signing gives MLB a positive vibe and it gives the Los Angeles Dodgers another weapon.
However, L.A.'s other team is feeling the sting of this. Owner Arte Moreno just committed the greatest gaffe in baseball history. Instead of trading Ohtani for the bulk of prospects and players that would have shaped his franchise in the future, he decided to gamble on Shohei returning to his fine organization. (That was sarcasm.) As expected, he didn't. What's worse is that they decided to not trade Mike Trout and handcuff this poor man for many years to come. This is what happens when the owner wants to meddle with sports operations instead of, you know, owning the team. The Angels were a franchise on the rise with Ohtani and Trout. Unfortunately, they flamed out quickly. Thanks a lot, Arturo.
Now, this is the part where A.J. has to put on his daddy pants and lecture the Dodger organization and fans. As a kid, I was a fan of the team, so it pains me to say how the last few years have been. All I can say is, no more excuses! That is all that I've heard from the organization and fans to why L.A. hasn't gone far in the playoffs. After this signing, grace period is over. You inked the modern day Babe Ruth or the real life Steve Nebraska to a long-term commitment and he is willing to defer money to bring in more talent. The time is now, the excuses are null.
Shohei Othani's signing sent a ripple effect on baseball, and it might have reshaped its future.
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