Nestor Cortes on Shohei Ohtani: “I’m just happy to be in the big leagues watching that”
Nestor Cortes explains why Shoehei Ohtani does things most pitchers would never consider doing and how the Japanese superstar is accomplishing even bigger things than Babe Ruth.
SportsPulse, USA TODAY
SEATTLE − It’s officially called the 93rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
But come on, who’s really kidding who?
This isn’t an All-Star Game.
This is the Shohei Ohtani Extravaganza.
There were 64 active All-Stars who met with the media on Monday, but one drew all of the attention, with hundreds of reporters and camera crews clamoring around him.
“Shohei, do you want to leave the Angels and go play for a winner?’’
“You still want to stay in Southern California, right?’’
“What do you think about New York? Seattle? Chicago?’’
“How many players are recruiting you?“
“Have you already begun thinking about free agency?’’
“Would you be honored to play for the Mariners, following in Ichiro Suzuki’s footsteps.“
“Why would you ever want to stay with the Angels?’’
Ohtani listened to all of questions, first by the Japanese TV crews, next by the Japanese newspaper and website reporters, and then by the English-speaking reporters.
Ohtani listened.
He smiled a lot.
But said next to nothing.
The most entertaining part of the question-and-answer session Monday was the shoving, pushing, and elbowing from the waves of reporters fighting to get close enough to hear Ohtani.
Everyone in the free world wants to know what Ohtani plans to do next.
He reminded everyone, over and over again, that being traded or staying put is out of his control.
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It’s the Los Angeles Angels’ call.
If the Angels continue their free-fall, it’s owner Arte Moreno’s decision whether to trade him for a haul of prospects, or keep him, gambling they can sign him as a free agent.
Moreno also knows that if they decide to trade Ohtani, he’s not coming back, and the crowds at Angel Stadium will suddenly start looking like the Oakland Coliseum.
Besides, who wants to be known as the owner who trades away the most talented player in baseball history, leading the major leagues in home runs (32) and slugging percentage (.633), batting average (.302) while yielding a 3.04 ERA with 123 strikeouts, with another MVP award coming his way?
The Angels (45-46) insist they won’t trade Ohtani by the Aug. 1 deadline as long as they’re in the race, but they have lost 13 of their last 17 games; three-time MVP Mike Trout is out until late August; and they are seven games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West, and chasing six teams in the wild-card race, sitting five games out.
The oddsmakers at Bovada believe he’s staying put, but just in case, you can earn five times your wager that he goes to the Dodgers, plus-650 with the Mets, plus-800 with the Yankees, and even plus-2,000 he is traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It’s something I have no control over,’’ Ohtani said. “I try not to think about it. I just try to focus on this season, and not think about all of the trade stuff.’’
His control will come the moment the World Series ends, and he becomes an official free agent, the great white whale every team in baseball desires.
“I’m not sure how that’s going to be,’’ Ohtani said. “I’m focused on this season right now. I just want do my bet this year and try to get as many wins as possible.’’
Well, it’s a little hard not to think about the future when you have virtually every All-Star quietly hoping to convince him to come to their city in 2024.
Have players already started their sales pitches in Seattle?
“I’ll keep that a secret,’’ Ohtani said, laughing.
The worst-kept secret in the game is that the Dodgers will do everything to get Ohtani, giving him at least $500 million, maybe even pushing $600 million.
There was an Ohtani-sized reason why the Dodgers didn’t spend big money in free agency last winter, declining to give anyone a multi-year contract, and have $67 million of contracts set to come off the books.
The Dodgers won’t blink giving Ohtani the largest contract in North American sports history.
Ohtani, 29, has been coveted by the Dodgers since he was a high-school star in Japan, and he likely would have signed with the Dodgers if the National League had a DH at the time.
Well, ever since that decision, Ohtani has watched the Dodgers continue to win, 10 consecutive postseason berths and counting, three pennants since 2017, and a World Series title.
They’re currently tied for first place in the NL West.
And the Angels?
They haven’t sniffed the playoffs since 2014. They haven’t won a postseason game since 2009. And their lone pennant and World Series title was in 2002.
Ohtani has mostly kept his thoughts to himself about the state of the Angels, but hasn’t bothered to hide his frustration over the constant losing.
The only time he has won a meaningful game required a return to Japan, leading his country to the WBC title over the United States in Miami this spring.
“It sucks to lose,’’ Ohtani said through his interpreter. “He wants to win, so [the desire] gets stronger every year.’’
Ohtani is much too polite to say he’s wasting away in Anaheim, but when you produce perhaps the greatest month by any player in the history of the game − .394, 15 homers, 25 extra-base hits, 1.444 OPS and a 3.26 ERA with 37 strikeouts in five starts − and the Angels fall further out of the playoff race, you have an entire baseball world screaming to the heavens.
It’s fabulous that Ohtani can showcase his unworldly talent on the national stage Tuesday, voted to the All-Star Game as a pitcher and a DH for the third consecutive year, but one exhibition game a year hardly quenches anyone’s thirst to witness greatness.
It would be cruel and unusual punishment to never see Ohtani play in October, much less spend his entire career in a small market.
“It really doesn’t matter to me if it’s a big or smaller market,’’ Ohtani said. “The Angels’ fans come watch the Angels because they love the team. I want to perform the best for them.’’
If nothing else, Ohtani is quite comfortable in Anaheim. He devoutly protects his privacy, and everyone abides by his wishes in Orange County.
When you read reports that Ohtani is favoring one city over the other in free agency, or says that privately wished he had signed elsewhere instead of the Angels, Ohtani wants to make it perfectly clear.
“All of those reports,’’ Ohtani said, “are lies. They make stuff up. I don’t think you should believe everything you believe.’’
For now, he just wants to be left alone until free agency, and if the next Ohtani ever comes along, he’s happy to help.
“I don’t feel like I’ve opened the doors for them,’’ Ohtani said. “But I was one of the first ones to do it, so I wanted to be as successful as possible so the younger guys that follow, will have a better opportunity to do both ways.
“If there’s anything I can do to help them out, give them advice or train, I’ll be open to helping them.’’
But if Ohtani plans to lean on any player for free agent advice himself, you can inquire all you want, but that is a secret he plans to keep.
Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale
