It’s been a crazy offseason for Ohtani this year. Signing his $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency wasn’t the end of it. Aside from normal Spring Training ramping back up after his procedure, some other developments came up. On the positive side, Ohtani announced he was newly married to Mamiko Tanaka, who has been a Japanese basketball player in recent years. On the negative side, a gambling scandal emerged around his former right hand man – interpreter Ippei Mizuhara – which Ippei involved Ohtani in by reportedly lying about knowledge and involvement to it. Jack a ..read more

Ohtani has reported to Spring Training and is beginning a new journey to prepare for the start of the 2024 season. While the Dodgers were always a top contender and obvious destination in free agency, what if Ohtani had chosen somewhere else? Kev and Jack look through specific lenses – the uniforms, locations, stadiums, and competitiveness – at the 29 other MLB teams in the league. Subscribe to our newsletter for more Ohtani updates: ohtanicomestoamerica.substack.com Thanks to the talented artist @247chr0 on Twitter for creating our new podcast cover artwork ..read more

June turned out to be one of the best months of Ohtani’s career, hitting 15 homers in 30 days and having some impressive pitching starts. While he is currently dealing with a cracked fingernail that impacted his last couple starts before the break, hopefully that will not continue to linger. In the meantime, Ohtani seemed to enjoy the All-Star Game in Seattle – easily making the team with his performance and popularity. However, the Angels have fallen just under .500 again after a slew of injuries. Is there any chance they trade him before the August 1st trade deadline? Or will they try to sta ..read more

After getting the full breakdown on the $700 million contract that Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, perceptions around the deal shifted. While it was a 10-year contract to play for the team, $680 million of that will be deferred until after it finishes. For the next 10 years, Ohtani will make $2 million per year – which is the number that got headlines. However, for the Dodgers’ luxury tax purposes (aka how competitive they can be), Ohtani will still be measured against that as $46 million per year based on MLB’s system. Essentially, he’s still the highest value player in the league and does ta ..read more

It’s time for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the international tournament akin to the World Cup – except for baseball, and not anywhere near as big around the world. However, in Japan, it is huge deal. This will be the first time Ohtani will play to represent his home country on this big stage, and he seems very excited to do so. Kev and Jack talk about some history of the tournament, Japan’s success so far, how they’re looking this year, and more to preview the 2023 WBC. Announcement! - We’ve launched an Ohtani newsletter as a compliment to the podcast. Subscribe at the link below for upda ..read more

The big decision of free agency is done. Ohtani is staying in Southern California, but with the Los Angeles Dodgers as his next team. The contract is the biggest in sports history, $700 million for 10 years. After reporters had complained about it being too quiet and private a process for the sport, Friday included thousands of people tracking a flight to Toronto – and even Drake posting on Stories – before Ohtani shared his decision in an Instagram post the next day. Kev and Jack give their initial reactions, talk through the Dodgers team choice, and the frenzy that led to it. You can sign up ..read more

It was a great year for Ohtani on a personal level, but once again no playoff baseball after a losing season from the Angels team. The second half of the season since the last episode at the All Star break mirrored that, as the Angels didn't do well under Phil Nevin taking over as manager mid-year. There is some positive development as owner Arte Moreno is finding a buyer to take the team off his hands. Meanwhile, Ohtani had a major improvement on the pitching side this year and still put up strong hitting numbers while doing it – becoming the first player ever to have 30+ home runs and 2 ..read more

After being shut down from pitching at the end of August, the rest of Ohtani's season also wrapped up earlier into September than expected. From an oblique injury that kept him as day-to-day, to then finally getting his elbow repair surgery (not full Tommy John), the decision was made that it was best for him to just heal at this point. Kev and Jack talk about the strange end to the season, as he finally finishes his contract with the Angels ..read more

Ohtani was announced to have a UCL tear (in his elbow), which has stopped him from pitching for the rest of the season. And, depending if he gets Tommy John surgery again, could keep him from throwing next year as well. He’s still hitting for now, and could still do that most of 2024 as well, but there’s a lot more questions now overall around the future of Ohtani’s on-the-field play – let alone how this will all impact his upcoming free agency and the contract he’ll be signing. Meanwhile, the Angels completely blew it after the trade deadline and fell apart. Jack and Kev talk about what it al ..read more

After an unusual offseason for baseball with the lockout, Opening Day is back and Ohtani will take the mound tomorrow for his official pitching and hitting return. Kev and Jack talk about the new “Ohtani rule” that came out of the lockout, the GQ Cover story, Ohtani being the cover star for the MLB The Show ’22 video game, his Spring Training, and predictions for his numbers this year. Plus, how the Angels did in the offseason and where Ohtani’s teammates stand to start the year. New S5 cover illustration by ひっきー(ひきちゃん) www.instagram.com/hikky.baseball ..read more