Shohei Ohtani is a generational talent that has taken over as the face of baseball. There isn't a single player in the league that compares to Ohtani based on his potential or the long term value he brings to your team. This offseason should be about celebrating that talent and speculating where the star is going to land.
Wherever Shohei Ohtani goes, he changes life for that team with any contract likely paying for itself
Ohtani is the face of the league and with that comes the understanding that things won't be handled the same. In typical MLB fashion, the league seems to be behind the rest of the sports world acting as if Ohtani has committed some grave offense.
Ohtani has made it clear that free agency will go his way and any leaks from teams will be held against the front office. This isn't unreasonable when you consider the type of money and commitment that Ohtani is looking for.
Being able to trust the front office and see them acquiesce your requests are baseline demands for a superstar. There is nothing unfair or over the line with these demands. One would think that those reporting on Ohtani would be celebrating the player and taking full advantage of this.
Shohei Ohtani's top-secret free agency is silly, and a missed opportunity for him and the sport. https://t.co/TgWLUmhQyH
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 6, 2023
This was far from the only reaction of this nature to Ohtani's handling of free agency. It seems baseball is still stuck back in time reacting as some grave offense were comitted. Look around at the other leagues and learn. Do they not think Tom Brady, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or even back further Peyton Manning had demands?
Can you imagine either league or the voices that cover them taking shots at how the stars chose to negotiate? Even more recently players like the controversial Deshaun Watson or Bucks star point guard Damian Lillard were catered to and chased after.
Ohtani and his agent don't want news leaked of meetings with teams, say such leaks will be held against that team. And so many folks normalizing this instead of calling it out for what it is, pretentious BS. We all know he's an incredible player. Just negotiate and pick a team.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 5, 2023
Baseball seems to have this false idea that they are the super power and not their players. We watched both the NFL and NBA go through an era of player empowerment. This allowed the players more control and ability to move teams and speak out when expectations weren't delivered on.
Can you imagine the response to Ohtani if that were the case here? Reading the reports this is a simple case of a star player wanting to control what is leaked and how his deal is negotiated. This isn't outlandish and comes from a player that has been an unproblematic face of your league.
Choosing to tear down Ohtani speaks to what is wrong with the league and why they are getting left behind. The NBA and NFL are always looking for ways to change, ways to promote their players, and how to get the fans more involved.
Baseball is a sport stuck in tradition, one that demands fake respect for a child's game and frowns on anyone that dares veer off the normal path. Shohei Ohtani is a generational talent one that has come without distractions or problems.
Choosing to criticize him is an indictment on the sport and why they could struggle to attract younger fans. This goes deeper than simply letting players celebrate, talk trash, or heaven forbid show a little flair while they are on the field. This is about how baseball promotes itself and the problems that run deeply throughout the league.
Yes, we have never seen a player quite like Ohtani, it stands to reason his free agency might just look a bit different as well.