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Mlb pet id tags1/6/2024 He could've capped his reflections with an observation about the Maple Leafs, about Joe Carter's home run. He could've mentioned Schneider's humor, thanked Mark Shapiro and Atkins for their time. He could've talked about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s power, Bo Bichette's aggressiveness at the plate, Kevin Gausman's splitter. He could open with an homage to the city of Toronto, before describing the impressive tour of the team's new spring training complex. Imagine if Ohtani had concluded his visit with the Toronto Blue Jays - the one that neither manager John Schneider nor GM Ross Atkins would confirm Tuesday, given multiple opportunities - with a Zoom call with reporters. Just as he has done on the field, Ohtani could have set a new standard - this time for free agent campaigns. Just imagine how much better served we all would have been if this window was handled progressively, rather than with paranoia. He is arguably the greatest international baseball star since Babe Ruth, transcending the sport's typical orbit, and the potential impact of that during his free agency has been squandered. The response, through channels, was this: Ohtani's camp was not prepared to release the dog's name. 20 "Baseball Tonight" podcast, calls were made to ascertain that small detail. It raised a simple question: What's the name of the dog?Īs discussed on the Nov. Instead, this is our reality: A couple of weeks ago, Ohtani sat with a cute dog as he was awarded the Most Valuable Player. There is so much respect for him and for his unique talent, and his free agency could have had the same feel. At the All-Star Game, Ohtani circulates among temporary teammates, laughing and posing for pictures, signing autographs for them. General manager Brandon Gomes admitted a few hours later that he was surprised Roberts had confirmed the meetings, refusing to comment on them himself. (NEWS FLASH: The Biggest Spending Team talks with the Most Prominent Free Agent!) Immediately, there were follow-up questions about why he would release the information in the face of the information blackout enforced by Ohtani's camp, which has said that it will hold leaks against teams with which they are negotiating. "Sorry, can't talk about the guy everybody is talking about," said one general manager, laughing.Īt the winter meetings Tuesday, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that the team had recently met with Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. There is silence and threats, with club executives rolling their eyes as they describe the warnings they have been given from Ohtani's camp about publicly discussing their efforts to sign the most dynamic and popular talent on earth. Instead, his decision is being handled like delicate negotiations over a secret spy swap. This really should all be fun, generating excitement among baseball fans dreaming of Ohtani in the lineup of their favorite team. Everybody wants him, and everybody wants to give him a lot of money. Ohtani has more leverage than any player ever. His short journey through free agency could have been a celebration of baseball. But the way this historic free agency has played out is unnecessarily joyless - and completely antithetical to the way Ohtani competes, the way he loves his craft. Maybe his silence is Ohtani's choice, or maybe somebody is giving him some really awful advice. Of course, that would imply that anyone had heard from Ohtani in the past four months. What is the point of all of this secrecy? Somebody should ask Shohei Ohtani a really simple question about his free agency: MLB, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani's secretive free agency is a missed opportunity for him and MLB You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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