The game’s greatest player and perhaps its most dynamic performer in history will be playing in its second-biggest market, for one of its most storied franchises, with an opportunity for the league and its broadcast partners to maximize Ohtani’s exposure.
In this atomized sports and pop culture landscape, we will stop short of saying Ohtani can and will elevate baseball to its bygone status as America’s pastime. Yet calling Dodger Stadium home means MLB will have no limits showcasing its unicorn.
It’s over, and now everyone – Shohei Ohtani, his agent, Nez Balelo, befuddled reporters and the lucky winners, the Los Angeles Dodgers – can breathe a big sigh of relief.
To that list we can unflinchingly add: Major League Baseball.
A look at why Ohtani in L.A. matters so much:
American exceptionalism
Let’s pause for a moment and send our condolences to the Toronto Blue Jays, who made a strong push for Ohtani and seemed positioned as the best upset pick in the event Ohtani did not choose the Dodgers. Ohtani would have been even more a global star, with a country to himself and a pair of MVP-caliber players – Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – sandwiching him.
