The Los Angeles Dodgers called a Thursday news conference to introduce Shohei Ohtani, who has not answered questions from reporters in more than four months.
The two-time AL MVP agreed to a record $700 million, 10-year contract last weekend, a deal that the team announced Monday and provides that 97% of the money be deferred without interest and not fully paid until 2043. A unique two-way star as both a hitter and pitcher, the 29-year-old left the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent after six years.
Ohtani was introduced during a news conference in Dodger Stadium's Centerfield Plaza.
He wore a navy business suit with a white shirt and blue tie, took off the jacket and put on a Dodgers home jersey with No. 17 and then the blue cap with the interlocking L&A. He took off the cap before speaking.
“One thing that really stands out in my head,” he said, “when I had the meeting with the Dodgers, the ownership group, they said when they looked back at the last 10 years, even though they made the playoffs every single year, won one World Series ring, they considered that a failure. And when I heard that, I knew they were all about winning, and that's exactly how I feel.”
Ohtani never reached the playoffs in six seasons with the Angels.
An electronic sign flashed “Welcome to the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani” in English and Japanese above the stage. Ohtani thanked controlling owner Mark Walter, team president Stan Kasten, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts.
The Dodgers had attempted to sign Ohtani out of high school before he joined the Nippon Ham Fighters.
"Shohei is arguably the most-talented player who has ever played this game," Friedman said, flanked by Ohtani and Walter. “One of our goals is to have baseball fans in Japan convert to Dodger blue.”
A unique two-way star as both a hitter and pitcher, the 29-year-old Japanese sensation left the Angels as a free agent after six years. He’s moving 30 miles up Interstate 5 after the Dodgers won out over the competition in a deal announced Monday. He said he made his decision Friday night, on the eve of his announcement.
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Ohtani also thanked the Angels during a news conference started shortly after 3 p.m. (8 a.m. Friday in Japan).
“It was a fun ride, a great ride,” he said. “I’ll never forget all the memories I have.”
The two-time AL MVP has a .274 batting average with 171 homers, 437 RBIs and 86 stolen bases along with a 39-19 record with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings. Ohtani has 34.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), per Baseball Reference.
He last spoke with reporters on Aug. 9, two weeks before a pitching injury that required surgery and will keep him off a mound until 2025. Ohtani - who first had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, 2018 - had the operation on Sept. 19, but the nature of the surgery was not fully announced.
“I’m not obviously an expert in the medical field, but it was a procedure," Ohtani said Thursday. "I’m not sure what it’s called, I know it was completely different from my first time, so I don’t know what you what to call it. You could probably talk to my doctor about that.”
Ohtani’s unusual contract calls for annual salaries of $70 million and of each year’s salary, $68 million is deferred with no interest, payable in equal installments each July 1 from 2034-43. Kasten said Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, proposed the deferred money last Friday, when there were false reports of a possible deal with Toronto.
The deal includes a full no-trade provision and provides for a hotel suite on road trips, a premium luxury suite for home games and a fulltime interpreter.
“Once Shohei had finished meeting with everyone, they said: Here's what it would take. What do you think?” Kasten said.
Deferred money lowered the annual charge to the Dodgers' luxury tax payroll to about $46 million, lowering their competitive balance tax.
“I figured if I can defer as much money as I can, if that's going to help the CBT and that's going help the Dodgers be able to sign better players and make a better team, I felt like that was worth it,” he said.
Ohtani can opt out of the deal if either Walter or Friedman no longer is with the team, a person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms were not announced.
“Everybody has to be on the same page in order to have a winning organization," Ohtani said. "I feel like those two are at the top of it and they’re in control of everything. And I feel almost like I’m having a contract with those two guys. And I feel like if one of them are gone ... things might get a little out of control so I just wanted a safety net.”
Said Friedman: “Obviously, it’s really flattering but also it’s a non-factor for me.”
Ohtani’s move from Anaheim to Hollywood has sent fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean flocking to buy Dodgers merchandise and inquire about tickets on the secondary market. The team has yet to begin single-game ticket sales for next season.
