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It is no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers have long been trying to land Shohei Ohtani. They have been tied to the two-way phenom since 2012, when they attempted to make him the first elite Japanese high schooler to skip the NPB. He declined their request, and when they tried to sign him in 2017, he signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
Throughout the years, the Dodgers held on to a secret weapon for whenever Ohtani would be on the open market again.
In 2017, the team had NBA legend Kobe Bryant make a special message to convince Ohtani to sign with the Dodgers. Bryant mentioned Ohtani's name, and he could not believe it.
"I was really surprised to see it. It was a strong and touching message" stated Ohtani.
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Bryant has been somebody Shohei Ohtani has looked up to. The dedication Bryant had to his craft and his will to win was something that Ohtani, alongside countless others, marveled at.
Shohei Ohtani is already breaking records with his new team before even playing a game with the Dodgers
After the baseball world learned of Shohei Ohtani's signing to the Dodgers, fans flocked online to buy the two-time AL MVP's jersey. He broke a record for the highest sales within 48 hours.
This speaks to how polarizing Ohtani is. It is not just Dodgers fans but fans from all over the world. No other baseball player brings what he does to the sport. LA now has another athlete as polarizing as Kobe was. The $700 million slugger is an international icon and the face of the league.
During Ohtani's press conference on Thursday, the Dodgers addressed their pitching questions. They traded with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot.
The Dodgers only had one healthy pitcher on their roster who had thrown over 100 innings in 2023, and that was rookie Bobby Miller. While Miller had a great year, they could not expect to run him out there alone. Glasnow will be a perfect fit, coming off a career-high 120 innings of work last season.
The team's projected starting rotation now looks like Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, and Ryan Yarbrough. That is a more than capable group of starting pitchers.
With Ohtani, the Dodgers have the talent, front office, and management to be a top dog for years to come.
