Shohei Ohtani has always bet on himself – and it’s about to reap huge rewards.
From an 18-year-old filled with aspirations to becoming one of the best two-way players baseball has ever seen, his journey has been one of confidence and commitment.
And now, Ohtani is set to cash in on that success – according to multiple media reports, he’s being tipped to receive a huge payday by signing a new contract which will make him the highest paid baseball player of all time.
“These are uncharted waters as far as assessing the value of this unique talent,” University of Southern California sports journalism professor Jeffrey Fellenzer told CNN Sport. “The figures you hear mentioned, whether that be $50 million, $60 million, he will set a new standard. It will be a gold standard for compensation in baseball.”
In 2017, with a Japanese Series championship win and a Pacific League MVP award under his belt, the 23-year-old Ohtani was at a crossroads: head to America and sign with a Major League Baseball (MLB) squad for a $3.5 million signing bonus, or put his lifelong dream on hold for two years, enter unrestricted free agency and potentially earn a $200 million contract, according to the LA Times who spoke to several league executives.
At the time, MLB’s international signing rules limited Ohtani to a rookie salary, but the coveted prospect valued American competition over an immediate massive payday.
Ohtani bet on himself to climb the ranks of baseball’s best and translate his Japanese success to American fields, signing with the Los Angeles Angels for a $2.3 million bonus in 2017, per Spotrac. Now, the 28-year old is set to cash in at the season’s close: Ohtani is projected to earn over $500 million — approximately $50 million per year — in his next contract per the New York Post.
The Japanese superstar can alter the trajectory of a game from the pitcher’s mound or batter’s box. Last year, “Sho-time” became the first player to finish in the top-15 in both home runs hit and strikeouts pitched in a season since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. This season, he’s currently in the top three in both categories — Ohtani is doing things previously thought to be inconceivable in the sport.
“He’s not just an All-Star, he’s a megastar,” Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said during Ohtani’s dominance in the 2022 season. “One of the top offensive players and one of the top pitchers. And he’s smart – I can tell the way he plays the game, he’s talented, but he’s smart.”
Ohtani is likely to add another MVP to his trophy cabinet at the end of the season. His two-way prowess is peerless, a unique spell of dominance that was nearly impossible to foresee, especially given the ambidextrous star’s desire to play both sides of the ball was met with skepticism when his name first made it to the MLB’s radar.
Originally, an 18-year old Ohtani was desperate for a chance to compete in the US, determined to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and follow in the footsteps of great Japanese pitchers Yu Darvish and Hideo Nomo. The Dodgers, however, were dubious about the idea of bringing the Japanese wunderkind on as a two-way player, so Ohtani signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he went on to have a prolific four-year career.
The Dodgers striking out on Ohtani was an understandable mistake from one of America’s elite franchises. When Ohtani finally made it to “The Show,” critics were doubtful of his jack-of-all-trades style, simply because they had not seen anything like it in decades.
“There is going to be a big learning curve,” baseball writer Scott Miller told CNN in 2018. “Nobody has tried to go both ways as a hitter and a pitcher since you go back to the days of Babe Ruth.”
Today, Ohtani’s name has been thrust into conversations with the legendary Ruth, not only for his prodigious on-field displays but also his considerable impact on the growth of baseball worldwide.
“[Ohtani] increases interest in Japanese baseball — who’s going to be the next Ohtani?” Fellenzer said. “It increases interest in baseball, period, here. It increases interest in Japanese baseball here. We’ll pay a little more attention now when they tell us who the best prospects are in Japan.”
As Ohtani puts on one awe-inspiring performance after another, he is not only keeping the Angels afloat, but “America’s pastime” as well. “Sho-time” is must-see TV, a revelation to baseball culture, appealing to and bringing in a younger demographic, while even further legitimizing Japan as a baseball powerhouse.
Ohtani’s upcoming payday will alter how the MLB structures superstar contracts, and front offices will scout and sign more two-way players in hopes of finding the next dominant dual-threat. Teams may also approach international prospects with more patience — Ohtani’s journey to becoming one of the game’s greats was not without its bumps.
After a blistering first season in which Ohtani was crowned American League Rookie of the Year, the subsequent two seasons were riddled with injuries, including a Tommy John surgery that sidelined Ohtani from the mound for almost two years.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction surgery, as it’s medically known, is a grafting procedure in which doctors take tendons from another part of the body – the forearm, hamstring, hip or knee – and replace the medial ligament in the elbow with the grafted portion. Two holes are drilled into the patient’s arm bones and the replacement ligament is woven between the two holes in a pattern resembling a figure-eight.
It meant his hefty payday was put on the back burner once again — Ohtani re-signed with the Angels on a two year, $8.5 million contract in 2021.
One MVP and two all-star selections later, the phenom is back on track to make megastar-money, but his eyes are set on the World Series, whether that be as an Angel or on another squad.
“I really like the team. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere of the team,” Ohtani said via an interpreter in 2021.
“But, more than that, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Ohtani has the Angels on pace for a winning record for the first time since 2015. As of July 2, the MVP-frontrunner leads the league in home runs, runs batted in and extra base hits from home plate.
Ohtani’s unprecedented run is the stuff of dreams, putting decades-long baseball records in his rear-view mirror.
Pitching and hitting are almost two completely different sports, with different nuances to perfect and different training regimens and scouting reports to understand. The two could not be further apart, yet Ohtani has managed to nearly master every aspect of the game.
After hitting two homers, striking out 10 White Sox batters and earning the Angels’ 4-2 victory over the White Sox in late June, Angels manager Phil Nevin may have summed up Ohtani best.
“We’re seeing things every day that we’ve never seen before,” Nevin said after the victory. ”You try not to take it for granted. I don’t think many of us do.”