When Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani was called out by a New York tabloid for pulling plug on Yankees move

Back when Shohei Ohtani was yet to make a decision on which team he'd be representing, a certain New York city tabloid attempted to belittle him for not choosing the 'Big Apple' as a final destination. The New York Daily News published an article headlined "What a Chicken," referring to the Japanese two-way player.

Shohei Ohtani from a very young age had the buzz around him. As a successful player in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, he garnered comparisons to the likes of Babe Ruth. When he made the decision to ply his trade in the biggest league in the world, all 30 teams wanted to have a meeting with him and his camp.

After the first round of talks, at least 15 teams confirmed that they wouldn't be meeting the then 23-year-old for another meeting. Amongst them were the New York Yankees, who were definitely interested in signing another Babe Ruth for their history books. When that fell apart, the New York media jumped on to the scene with their over-the-top articles.

The New York Daily News were clearly looking for attention when they compared Ohtani to a chicken. The subhead read: “Japan star snubs Yanks, fear big city.” The subsequent tweet was controversial in its own aspect.

"STAGE FRIGHT: Shohei Otani too scared to play for the @Yankees"

The New York media had the negative idea that a player choosing not to play in the city meant they were fearful of the scrutiny. Furthermore, the wrong idea spread that declining New York signified the player wanting to sign in a smaller market. But quite practically, New York is the biggest market, and in Shohei Ohtani's case, he ended up going to Los Angeles, which is the second biggest.

Shohei Ohtani's New York conundrum to resurface in the upcoming offseason

Shohei Ohtani will be heading into free agency at the end of the 2023 regular season as his contract with the Halos expires. He will look to weigh his options for the future. As per plenty of reports, the New York Mets are the frontrunners to sign the 28-year-old. But again, the question lies whether Ohtani will be making the move to New York at all.