If you want to sign Shohei “Superman” Ohtani, 29, you’ll need more than just a big payday, you’ll need to win his heart. The Los Angeles Dodgers have retired Ohtani’s number 17, which he wore for five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. The biggest advantage of joining the Dodgers is that he’ll be able to focus on his baseball in a similar environment to the Angels. The same goes for his jersey number.
Right-handed pitcher Joe Kelly, 35, wore the number 17 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He picked up the number when he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox last July. The veteran reliever has a 53-37 record with 90 holds and seven saves in 450 career games.
According to U.S. media, an LA Dodgers official asked Kelly if he could transfer the number, and he readily agreed. “I would be honored to hand over the number to Ohtani,” Kelly said.
The Nippon Ham Fighters drafted Ohtani with the first overall pick in their rookie draft in late 2012, just before he graduated from Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture. Recognized for his immense potential, 카지노사이트킴 Ohtani planned to play Major League Baseball instead of Nippon Professional Baseball. He interviewed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox.
The club’s leadership, including manager Hideki Kuriyama (62), took an active role in changing his mind.
They supported the pitcher and hitter, promising him an early entry into the major leagues. They summarized cases of Korean high school prospects failing to make it directly to the major leagues, emphasizing the advantages of building a professional career and taking on challenges.
Nihon Ham gave ‘Super Rookie’ Ohtani the number 11. It was the ace number worn by Darvish Yu (37-San Diego), who left for the major leagues.
Ohtani wore No. 11 for Nippon Ham from 2013-2017. In 2018, he moved to the Los Angeles Angels via a Major League posting and wore the number 17 for five years. He wore the number 16 for Japan in both the 2015 Premier12 and the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Senior Tomoyuki Sugano (34, Yomiuri) wore the number 11 when he played for Nippon Ham in the Premier12 in 2015. The ace symbol, No. 18, was worn by Genta Maeda (35-Detroit), who played for Hiroshima Carp.
At the WBC in March, Darvish wore No. 11 and Hiromi Ito (26-Niihon Ham) wore No. 17. The number 18 went to Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25-Oryx). Yamamoto also wore the number 18 jersey for his home team.
The battle for Otani is reaching a climax.
According to US media reports, the race has narrowed down to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels. Recent reports have suggested that the Angels have a 20-30% chance of keeping him.
There is an argument to be made that Ohtani needs to play for a team that can make the postseason in order for him to be attractive to the entire major leagues. During Ohtani’s five-year career, the Angels never played fall baseball. In all five years, the team won less than 5 percent of its games.
Right elbow surgery last September. Next season, he’ll be a designated hitter only. And yet, his price tag keeps rising. His total is over $500 million, with projections of $600 million.
In 135 games this season, Ohtani batted .340 with 151 hits, 44 home runs, 95 RBIs, 102 runs scored, 20 doubles, and a 1.066 OPS. Went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position (32 for 101).
Appeared in 23 games as a starter, going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts. 스포츠토토사이트 Injuries limited him to 132 innings and he did not complete the required number of innings (162). He led the American League in home runs and won his second American League MVP award in 2021.