We finally met at the restaurant, and the price of two people alone is 1.3 trillion won a local dinner in the United States. Major League superstar Shohei Ohtani (29) and Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25) who will play together with the Los Angeles Dodgers starting in the 2024 season. The two showed off their friendship by eating together at a local restaurant in the U.S. Local media, including MLBcom , the official U.S. Major League Baseball website, said on the 25th (Korean time) that Otani had dinner with Yamamoto at the restaurant of Nobu Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.
“The world-famous sushi restaurant served delicious meals and special desserts Saturday (local time) by all means for special guests Ohtani and Yamamoto, as well as interpreter Mizuhara Ifei, 39,,” the outlet quoted Nobu Matsuhisa’s social network service account as saying. “The world-famous sushi restaurant pulled out for its special guests, producing Ohtani, Yamamoto and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara to an array of selectable desserts.” MLBcom added, “Otani and Yamamoto are trying to build a bond after signing a mega contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s worth celebrating.”
Ohtani and Yamamoto are smiling brightly while holding plates of sashimi side by side at a restaurant in Matsuhishi, Nobu. Compared to the tremendous price of the two, it is a very simple meal. However, the physical difference between Ohtani and Yamamoto is noticeable at a glance. Ohtani boasts a physique of 193 centimeters and 95.3 kilograms. Yamamoto has a physical condition of 178 centimeters and weighs 80 kilograms. Yamamoto appears relatively small because Ohtani’s physique is so good.
Ohtani and Yamamoto were among the most prominent players in the stove league this winter. Ohtani signed a 10-year free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month, worth a total of 700 million U.S. dollars. It was the largest contract in history for any North American sport that the MLB (major league) belongs to as well as any other sports around the world. 온라인경마
Ohtani himself greeted me first through his social networking service. “I have decided to choose the Dodgers as the next team I will play for,” Ohtani said. “To all Dodgers fans, I promise to always do my best for the team. I will also do my best to show the best of myself. Until the last day of my career, I want to continue to strive not only for the Dodgers but also for the baseball community.”
Ohtani first informed baseball fans of his contract through his personal SNS on the 10th. Ohtani said, “To all fans and to all people in the baseball community, I am sorry that it took too long to make a decision. I have decided to choose the Dodgers as the next team I will play for,” adding, “To all Dodgers fans, I promise to always do my best for the team. I will always do my best to show the best of myself. Until the last day of my career, I want to continue to strive not only for the Dodgers but also for the baseball community.”
The size of his contract is also amazing, and what’s more surprising is how he pays his salary. According to U.S. local reports, Ohtani will receive the remaining amount without interest for 10 years from 2034 to 2043. He has decided to receive 97 percent of his contract from 2034, when the contract ends. During his 10-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers from next year to 2033, Ohtani received only 20 million dollars, multiplied by the 2 million dollars he receives every year 10 times. Previously, Ohtani received 30 million dollars in 2023 while playing for the Los Angeles Angels.
This was perhaps the big picture of Ohtani and the Dodgers. Often, when a club and a player sign an ultra-large contract in the Major League, the club makes “The Deferrals,” in which some salaries are paid later. Moreover, since there is no interest, it is beneficial for the club in the long run considering inflation. The Athletic, an American media outlet, said, “The Deferral Agreement between Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers will ease the burden of luxury taxes and cash flow, while at the same time bringing competitiveness to the team.” Ohtani’s decision significantly reduced the burden of luxury taxes for the Los Angeles Dodgers, instead of earning less.
Regarding the transfer, Ohtani said at a press conference, “I think it is possible to sign a transfer contract if any player has a large contract size. The amount is also left to the player. If that is how the club has flexibility in pay roll, I thought it could be received later.” Eventually, the Dodgers had the capacity to invest huge amounts of money back in the stove league as Ohtani had hoped. And this led to the best result of recruiting ace Yamamoto from the same nationality.
The LA Dodgers have not officially announced their contract with Yamamoto yet. On the 22nd, the U.S. Major League Baseball’s official website and ESPN reported that “Yamamoto signed a 12-year contract with the LA Dodgers for a total of $325 million (about 423 billion won).” The Dodgers, which previously invested $700 million in catching Ohtani, spent an astronomical amount of $1.025 billion (about 1.3343 trillion won) in recruiting two Japanese pitchers.
Yamamoto entered the Major League Baseball through a posting system (closed competitive bidding). This is the largest contract ever made by a player who entered the Major League through a posting system. As a result, the Orix Buffaloes, Yamamoto’s original club, will be able to earn a whopping $50 million (W65.1 billion) from the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, unlike Ohtani, this contract reportedly does not include a so-called “defer” contract, which suspends payment, according to MLBcom. MLB.com said, “According to sources, this contract includes a signing bonus of $50 million, but does not include a deferral clause.”
“This will give Yamamoto the biggest contract ever for a pitcher, beating over Gerrit Cole, who is currently playing for the New York Yankees.” Cole has signed a nine-year contract worth 324 million dollars with the New York Yankees, and is still ahead of Yamamoto’s annual salary of 27 million dollars. At once, Yamamoto was treated as a top-notch pitcher representing the Major League. The combined value of Ohtani and Yamamoto amounts to a whopping 1.025 billion dollars.
In addition, Yamamoto signed a 12-year contract, writing a new history of being the longest-ever contract in the history of Major League Baseball. MLBcom said, “Yamamoto’s contract is also the longest FA contract since Wayne Garland signed a 10-year, $2.3 million contract with the Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) in 1977. The Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to an unprecedented 10-year, $700 million contract before acquiring right-hander Tyler Glasnow in a trade to strengthen their starting rotation. And this time, with Yamamoto in his arms, he became the winner of this offseason.”
MLBcom said, “The Dodgers paid more than $1.1 billion while recruiting Ohtani, Yamamoto and Glasnow. And the reason why we were able to sign such a contract was because Ohtani signed an unprecedented number of “The Deferrals” (some annual salaries paid later),” and added, “The Dodgers had already recovered starting resources such as Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin from surgery.” In addition, we were looking for ways to strengthen the mound by recruiting additional starters, but the Dodgers’ team could gain more with the recruitment of Yamamoto.”
Yamamoto previously said in an interview with local media in the U.S. that he would choose the team he really wants to play for rather than money. According to the New York Post, the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Toronto Blue Jays were selected as contenders for the recruitment of Yamamoto. In particular, the New York Mets attracted more attention when it was revealed that “billionaire” Stephen Cohen invited Yamamoto to his home.
However, the ultimate winner was the Dodgers. In fact, the LA Dodgers had a very advantageous position. Most of all, Ohtani of the same Japanese nationality was on the team. The U.S. media outlet The Athletic reported that Ohtani is trying to help his team, the LA Dodgers, recruit Yamamoto. “On the 13th, not only Ohtani but also Betts and Freeman attended the Dodger Stadium.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers is a prestigious baseball team that has won the World Series seven times. Notably, it has won 10 NL West titles, three World Series titles, and one title over the past 11 seasons. In addition, Hideo Nomo, Hiroki Kuroda, Kenta Maeda, and Yu Darvish who marked a milestone in Japanese baseball history visited one after another. The Athletic said, “When Yamamoto entered the Dodger Stadium, a video clip of him wearing his name and the Dodgers uniform appeared. There was Betts, his favorite teammate Freeman, and catcher Will Smith who will play with him.”
Yamamoto is one of the best starters that Japan boasts. Making his professional debut with the Orix Buffaloes in 2017, Yamamoto won his first four titles in 2021 with 18 wins and five losses, 1.39 ERA and a winning percentage of 0.783 after winning four games and eight games in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Then in the 2022 season, he won four gold medals for the second consecutive season with 15 wins and five losses, 1.68 ERA and 0.750 win percentage. Yamamoto started all 23 games in the 2023 season and recorded 16 wins and six losses and a 1.21 ERA. The winning percentage was 0.727. While pitching a total of 164 innings, he faced 636 batters with 117 hits (two homers), 169 strikeouts, 28 walks, and 27 runs (two earned) on the ball (two earned runs), and 0.198 on the WHIP (the on-base percentage allowed per inning) which were overwhelming. The pitching percentage of quality starts (less than three earned runs in six innings as a starter) reached 91.3%. Along with Yamamoto’s outstanding performance, his team Orix won 86-53 (winning percentage of 0.619) in the Pacific League, securing its third consecutive league victory.
Yamamoto has been remarkable in that he ranks first in all major pitcher categories, including multiple wins, ERA, most strikeouts and winning percentage. He was the first player in the history of the Japanese professional baseball league to win four gold medals in three consecutive seasons. The gap between Sachiya Yamasaki of the Orix Buffaloes and Kaima Taiira of the Seibu Lions was five wins. Yamamoto was the only one with an ERA of one point, and beat Atsuki Tanetsu (Chiba Lotte), who was second, by 12 points in the strikeout category. He also clinched the Sawamura Award, which is given to the best pitcher of the year, for the third consecutive year. He became the third player to win the Nippon Professional Baseball MVP award for three consecutive seasons, the first time since Ichiro Suzuki from 1994 to 1996.
As soon as he made his Major League debut, Ohtani wrote a brilliant history of pitching and hitting. In his first year as a batter, he hit .285 with 22 home runs, 61 RBIs with an OPS of 0.925, and four wins, two losses and a 3.31 ERA with a pitcher. After undergoing Tommy John Surgery meant to link tendons in his elbow in October 2018, Ohtani only played as a batter in the 2019 season and posted a batting average of .286, 18 homers and 62 RBIs with an OPS of .848. The 2020 season was a brief period of rest. He returned as a pitcher in the same year, but played in only two games, recording one loss and a 37.80 ERA without a win. He only had a batting average of .100 or .190 as a batter. Otani’s revival was in the 2021 season. In the 2021 season, Ohtani played in 155 games as a batter, posting a batting average of .257, 46 homers, 100 RBIs and 26 stolen bases, .965 OPS, and 23 games as a pitcher, recording nine wins, two losses and an ERA of 3.18, and 156 strikeouts in 130 ⅓ innings as well as winning the American League MVP in a unanimous vote.
And this year, Ohtani had a season of revival. He played 135 games as a batter, recording a batting average of 0.274 (151 hits in 497 times at bat), 44 home runs, 26 doubles, eight triples, 95 RBIs, 102 runs scored, 143 strikeouts and 20 steals, and a batting average of 0.304 with a batting average of 0.654 with an OPS of 1.066. His slugging percentage and OPS are career-high season. He hit 44 home runs, two short of his record (46) in the 2021 season, to clinch his first career American League home run title. He ranked first in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total number of on-base hits (325 on base), while OPS was also the top in the Major League overall. In addition, he pitched in 23 games (23 starts) and recorded 10-5 losses with a 3.14 ERA. He also had one shutout for the first time in his career. He allowed 85 hits (11 home runs), 50 runs (46 earned) and 55 walks, 167 strikeouts, 0.184 with a WHIP (base-per-inning percentage) of 1.08 in total 132 innings. Along with the MVP honor, Ohtani also won the Silver Slugger (nominated hitter) given to the best hitter by position, and the Edgar Martinez Award given to the best designated hitter. Ohtani’s batting career record is .274 (681 hits in 2,483 times at bat) with 129 doubles, 29 triples, 171 homers, 437 RBIs, 428 runs scored, 351 walks, 755 strikeouts, 86 steals, on-base percentage 0.366, slugging percentage 0.556 and OPS 0.922. His career as a pitcher is 38-19 with an ERA of 3.01.
Meanwhile, Ohtani and Yamamoto will make their official 2024 season debut in Korea. The Los Angeles Dodgers will hold its official Major League opener against the San Diego Padres on March 21 next year at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. This is the first-ever Major League regular season game to be held in Korea, and the transfer of Ohtani and Yamamoto is expected to attract a lot of attention. After undergoing elbow surgery last summer, Ohtani will focus on batting next season. “I’ve already started preparing for batting. I’m training to the point where I feel like I’m a little bit fast. If I’m fully prepared to participate in the spring camp and exhibition games, I think I’ll be able to join the opening game,” Ohtani told a news conference.
