Ohtani Comes To America

Ohtani’s first regular season with the Dodgers was a massive success, despite all the drama of the offseason leading up to it. He became the first player to ever hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same reason, which would land him his third MVP award in four years. More importantly for Ohtani, it was the first time he got to be in the playoffs. The Dodgers went all the way, beating the New York Yankees in the World Series in five games. Ohtani, for the first time since coming to the MLB in 2018, is an MLB champion.

It’s been a crazy offseason for Ohtani this year. Signing his $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency wasn’t the end of it. Aside from normal Spring Training ramping back up after his procedure, some other developments came up. On the positive side, Ohtani announced he was newly married to Mamiko Tanaka, who has been a Japanese basketball player in recent years. On the negative side, a gambling scandal emerged around his former right hand man – interpreter Ippei Mizuhara – which Ippei involved Ohtani in by reportedly lying about knowledge and involvement to it. Jack and Kev talk about the latest developments with the marriage and Ippei, as well as giving a little preview to the Dodgers’ year ahead. Ohtani’s seventh MLB season has officially begun. Subscribe to our newsletter for more Ohtani updates: ⁠ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

Ohtani has reported to Spring Training and is beginning a new journey to prepare for the start of the 2024 season. While the Dodgers were always a top contender and obvious destination in free agency, what if Ohtani had chosen somewhere else? Kev and Jack look through specific lenses – the uniforms, locations, stadiums, and competitiveness – at the 29 other MLB teams in the league. Subscribe to our newsletter for more Ohtani updates: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com Thanks to the talented artist @247chr0 on Twitter for creating our new podcast cover artwork!

After getting the full breakdown on the $700 million contract that Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, perceptions around the deal shifted. While it was a 10-year contract to play for the team, $680 million of that will be deferred until after it finishes. For the next 10 years, Ohtani will make $2 million per year – which is the number that got headlines. However, for the Dodgers’ luxury tax purposes (aka how competitive they can be), Ohtani will still be measured against that as $46 million per year based on MLB’s system. Essentially, he’s still the highest value player in the league and does take up a lot of room on the team payroll. Jack and Kev talk about how this changes their opinion on the deal, the Dodgers’ press conference, Ohtani’s dog name reveal, and more. Subscribe to our Ohtani newsletter: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

The big decision of free agency is done. Ohtani is staying in Southern California, but with the Los Angeles Dodgers as his next team. The contract is the biggest in sports history, $700 million for 10 years. After reporters had complained about it being too quiet and private a process for the sport, Friday included thousands of people tracking a flight to Toronto – and even Drake posting on Stories – before Ohtani shared his decision in an Instagram post the next day. Kev and Jack give their initial reactions, talk through the Dodgers team choice, and the frenzy that led to it. You can sign up for more updates at our newsletter: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

After winning the MVP in 2021 and falling second in 2022 to Aaron Judge’s record-breaking performance, Ohtani’s performance this year earned him a second unanimous MVP award win. Announced in mid-November, the next day a ESPN Films documentary was released – “Shohei Ohtani: Beyond The Dream” – about his journey from Japan to the U.S. and his unique vision to make it happen. Jack and Kev talk about how this MVP win impacts the future discussion and initial reactions to the documentary.

After being shut down from pitching at the end of August, the rest of Ohtani's season also wrapped up earlier into September than expected. From an oblique injury that kept him as day-to-day, to then finally getting his elbow repair surgery (not full Tommy John), the decision was made that it was best for him to just heal at this point. Kev and Jack talk about the strange end to the season, as he finally finishes his contract with the Angels.

Ohtani was announced to have a UCL tear (in his elbow), which has stopped him from pitching for the rest of the season. And, depending if he gets Tommy John surgery again, could keep him from throwing next year as well. Je’s still hitting for now, and could still do that most of 2024 as well, but there’s a lot more questions now overall around the future of Ohtani’s on-the-field play – let alone how this will all impact his upcoming free agency and the contract he’ll be signing. Meanwhile, the Angels completely blew it after the trade deadline and fell apart. Jack and Kev talk about what it all might mean for Ohtani, what this next month will bring (including the HR race with Olson), and the playful moment with Elly De La Cruz on the day of the injury. For weekly updates, subscribe to the newsletter: https://ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

While the Angels said they were listening to trade offers, Ohtani seemed to never really be close to getting moved by the team. So he'll remain in Anaheim through the end of the season before free agency. Instead, the Angels brought in a few new players to help supplement their push for the playoffs. Kev and Jack do a quick recap of the last couple weeks since the All-Star Break, from the trade deadline period to Ohtani's incredible two-way doubleheader performance in Detroit. You can keep up to date with our weekly Ohtani newsletter at: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

June turned out to be one of the best months of Ohtani’s career, hitting 15 homers in 30 days and having some impressive pitching starts. While he is currently dealing with a cracked fingernail that impacted his last couple starts before the break, hopefully that will not continue to linger. In the meantime, Ohtani seemed to enjoy the All-Star Game in Seattle – easily making the team with his performance and popularity. However, the Angels have fallen just under .500 again after a slew of injuries. Is there any chance they trade him before the August 1st trade deadline? Or will they try to stay in the wild card hunt for a playoff spot? Ohtani will have no say in it until he’s a free agent after the season, but in the meantime he’s handling business. The question for him is: can he really chase the AL home run record that Aaron Judge broke last year?

It’s a big year for Ohtani, as no longer after this season will he be committed to the Angels anymore. No more contract, and so far there’s been no real talks of him re-signing. So the pressure is on the Angels to win, and Ohtani wants to just as bad as ever – if not more, given he’s coming off leading Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic only a few months ago. And now his opponent for that last championship out, Mike Trout, is back on his team again. However, Trout and Ohtani can only do so much on their own. Have the Angels improved enough to become a playoff contender? Or are they just a .500 team, as they’ve been for almost a decade now. Kev and Jack discuss Ohtani’s performance on both sides so far, how the Angels are looking, and how this all may impact his free agency. You can keep up to date with our weekly Ohtani newsletter at: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

The winner of this year's World Baseball Classic all came down to the matchup everyone had been dreaming of: Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout. Little did we know it would be as perfect as could be, happening in the last out of the last game with the tying run at the plate. But just like with this podcast, Ohtani was the star. He struck out Trout to win Japan the WBC title, beating Team USA on their own turf. During the whole run of the tournament, Ohtani was unstoppable on both sides, earning him the MVP award for the tourney. Jack and Kev recap how the tournament went from start to finish, what was different about him playing for Japan, and discuss how the new MLB rules will impact Ohtani in his upcoming contract year before free agency. We launched an Ohtani newsletter to go along with the podcast. You can subscribe at the link below for updates and to read more: https://ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

It’s time for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the international tournament akin to the World Cup – except for baseball, and not anywhere near as big around the world. However, in Japan, it is huge deal. This will be the first time Ohtani will play to represent his home country on this big stage, and he seems very excited to do so. Kev and Jack talk about some history of the tournament, Japan’s success so far, how they’re looking this year, and more to preview the 2023 WBC. Announcement! - We’ve launched an Ohtani newsletter as a compliment to the podcast. Subscribe at the link below for updates and to read more: https://ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com

In the postseason award announcements, Ohtani took 2nd place in the AL MVP race to slugger Aaron Judge for the 2022 season. It wasn't much of a surprise, considering the historic 62-homer show that Judge put on this year. But while Ohtani ended up only receiving two of the 30 first place votes, arguments could easily be made for both sides. Jack and Kev break down how the seasons compared, how "Most Valuable" is a subjective and purposely vague measurement, and debate who the true winner should be. 

It was a great year for Ohtani on a personal level, but once again no playoff baseball after a losing season from the Angels team. The second half of the season since the last episode at the All Star break mirrored that, as the Angels didn't do well under Phil Nevin taking over as manager mid-year. There is some positive development as owner Arte Moreno is finding a buyer to take the team off his hands. Meanwhile, Ohtani had a major improvement on the pitching side this year and still put up strong hitting numbers while doing it – becoming the first player ever to have 30+ home runs and 200+ strikeouts in the same season. Kev and Jack take a deep dive on his performance for the season overall, securing the $30M arbitration bag, and what the future may hold for the last year of his contract with the team.

The All-Star Break brings us around the midway mark of the year. It took a little bit for Ohtani to warm up this season, but now he's continued to heat up as summer came into the air. Jack and Kev talk about his latest stretch of dominant pitching, how his streaky bat's been, more records he's breaking, and Shohei's time at the ASB. Then, a venting session on the dumpster fire that is the Angels season with a strong start, 14-game losing streak, firing of Joe Maddon, and big brawl with the Mariners that made things worse.

After an unusual offseason for baseball with the lockout, Opening Day is back and Ohtani will take the mound tomorrow for his official pitching and hitting return. Kev and Jack talk about the new “Ohtani rule” that came out of the lockout, the GQ Cover story, Ohtani being the cover star for the MLB The Show ’22 video game, his Spring Training, and predictions for his numbers this year. Plus, how the Angels did in the offseason and where Ohtani’s teammates stand to start the year. New S5 cover illustration by ひっきー(ひきちゃん) www.instagram.com/hikky.baseball

With the playoffs and World Series over, it's time for baseball awards. Of course, they saved the most important one until the end, but it was worth the wait... Shohei Ohtani is your UNANIMOUS 2021 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER! He’s the first to get all the top place votes since Mike Trout almost a decade ago, and only a dozen or so players to ever to do it. Jack and Kev give their instant reactions to the MVP announcement with recording right after it happened and discuss some other offseason tidbits. Plus, what free agents the Angels might want to go after both on and off the mound.

The regular season is over and, as usual, the Angels did not make the playoffs or come close. While the second half of the year after the All-Star Break was quieter than the beginning for Ohtani, he still kept up the two-way play. It looks like he’ll be in line for the MVP, when those awards are given out in November (which we’ll be doing another episode for). In the meantime, Kev and Jack go over how Ohtani did for the year and what takeaways there are. Plus, the bright and dark spots of the Angels season in general. Even Ohtani’s best season yet was only so much help.

We’re at the break of an incredible first half for Ohtani where he’s leading the league in home runs, up there in Cy Young contention, and is giving us “Shotime” night in and night out – both on and off the mound. There’s been no bigger stage, however, then this past All-Star week. Ohtani participated in the Home Run derby, and then the next day was the leadoff hitter and starting pitcher in the All-Star game. He was the center of attention, rightfully so, and has been the overall star of the season. Jack and Kev break down his numbers so far, how they felt about the HR derby and ASG, and the current State of Shohei.