The Los Angeles Dodgers shook up the MLB landscape with their signing of dual-threat superstar Shohei Ohtani, signing him to a ten-year $700 million contract last month, a contract that has largely been inconceivable for any player up until this point in MLB history.
Former MLB player turned Sunday Night Baseball analyst Eduardo Pérez spoke on the signing during a recent appearance on the Short and to the Point podcast, saying that he would have never believed something like this could happen even 15 years ago in the MLB.
“The game is in really good condition,” Pérez said about the Ohtani signing, to STTP host Jessica Kleinschmidt “The game is really making a ton of money. The only way that ownership is going to spend that kind of money is knowing they can make more on it. They are going to be able to capitalize huge when it comes to the media market in Japan. To be able to become the brand not only in Major League Baseball but worldwide. That is what plays in a major way with the L.A. Dodgers organization right now.
“If you were to tell me this 15 years ago Jessica, I would have said you were nuts. Now I understand it because I cover it. Not only that, it’s not like Shohei has won world championships. It’s not like Shohei has played in the postseason, he has not. He has the World Baseball Classic, I’ll give him that. But now Shohei has to come through for that fanbase and be healthy. He is now being paid as a designated hitter. We’re still going to find out if that second surgery worked. Those are a lot of what-ifs.”
Pérez does raise some great points here. Ohtani is obviously a generational talent that has a proven track record of regular-season success. But it is still unknown how he may perform with the pressure of the postseason upon him, or how he may do in his return to pitching in 2025.
Only time will tell on either of those points from Pérez. But it is certainly clear that the game of baseball has undoubtedly grown since Pérez’s time in the MLB.
Short and to the Point with Jessica Kleinschmidt is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
