Holy baseball, Batman. Shohei Ohtani is staying in southern California but as a Los Angeles Dodger.
The former Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers have struck a deal, Ohtani announced Saturday on his Instagram page. The move has been speculated about all off-season, and according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it’s a 10-year, $700 million deal.
A lot of effort was put into figuring out where Shohei was signing after the star made it known that he would take it personally if any team leaked that they met with him. That decision led some dedicated folks to track the whereabouts of a plane he might have been on — turns out, he wasn’t — for any small details that might indicate his new home.
It also led to J.J. Watt calling out the media for complaining about how secretive the whole thing was. (Yeah, the baseball world was down BAD.)
But MLB fans finally have their answer after weeks of unrest:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0pR_vyvLpR/?igshid=MzY1NDJmNzMyNQ%3D%3D
In his Instagram caption, Ohtani wrote:
To all the fans and everyone involved in the baseball world, I apologize for taking so long to come to a decision. I have decided to choose the Dodgers as my next team.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved with the Angels organization and the fans who have supported me over the past six years, as well as to everyone involved with each team that was part of this negotiation process. Especially to the Angels fans who supported me through all the ups and downs, your guys’ support and cheer meant the world to me. The six years I spent with the Angels will remain etched in my heart forever.
And to all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself. Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world.
There are some things that cannot be conveyed in writing, so I would like to talk more about this again at a later press conference.
Thank you very much