When the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani, it shook the landscape of the baseball universe. As it turns out, they had some unexpected help.
Ohtani recently agreed to sign a ten-year deal with the Dodgers worth $700 million (including a deferred payment plan). The massive deal made the team immediate favorites to win the World Series next season.
While there are many reasons Ohtani decided to sign with Los Angeles rather than other potential suitors (like the Blue Jays or the Giants), one came in the form of the pitch video presentation from the team.
Here is more on the video from this fantastic feature by Jeff Passan (via ESPN):
“But in that sliver of time, on the screen for Ohtani was a figure long associated with Los Angeles sports excellence making the case for him to sign with the Dodgers.
Kobe Bryant.
Back in 2017, Bryant had filmed the clip as a favor to the team. Now, more than three years after his death in a helicopter crash, Bryant’s reputation as the ultimate competitor spans all sports, and his message to Ohtani registered the same posthumously in 2023 as it would have then: There’s no better place in the world to win than Los Angeles, and there’s no better team in baseball to win with than the Dodgers.
‘That was one of the highlights of the whole meeting,’ Ohtani told ESPN through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. ‘I was really surprised to see it. It was a strong and touching message.’
When Bryant said Ohtani’s name, it took him aback. They never met, but Ohtani marveled at his commitment, to his craft, to his sport, to his team. Mizuhara, who is as much consigliere to Ohtani as the conduit for his words, grew up in Los Angeles and understood what it meant for Bryant to vouch for the Dodgers. A minute of his time, of the presence he still casts, felt like a wonderful eternity.”
It makes sense why Ohtani would feel so moved by the encouragement from the late Bryant, who had so much success winning championships during his time playing in Los Angeles.
Ohtani, who also received a signed pair of shoes from Bryant in 2018, likely ingratiated himself with lots of fans in Southern California by sharing that the video from the five-time champion meant so much to him.
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