Bobby Witt in the game to pinch run!

Edit: and he's out on a double play from Mookie Betts.
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Japan wins. Ohtani strikes out Mike Trout to win the game and the championship.
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Ohtani should make that TV call his ringtone, so that every time he gets a call in the clubhouse Trout hears it.
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Trout's going to want those fastballs back. Ohtani threw him 2 fastballs right down the middle, they were 100 mph but those are the pitches you have to hit against him.
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Has Trout ever done anything in a meaningful game ever? Choked at the plate all night.
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Ohtani is the greatest baseball player of all time.
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Nope.
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Shohei Othani in the World Baseball Classic hit .435/.606/.739 with 4 doubles & a home run. And he had a 1.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 9⅔ innings.

— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) March 22, 2023

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Shohei should win the MVP every year so long as he remains this caliber of hitter and pitcher. Just an absurd athlete.
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He's the most insane player we've ever seen. The game today is so specialized and he can do it all.
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Yep. Voters will always have to talk themselves out of voting for the clear best like they did to avoid Trout winning 5x.
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The real question is what kind of contract does he get? I can't even imagine at this point. There's literally no comparison.
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My guess is $50 mil per year at whatever length he wants.
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I see you boys have taken notice of Shohei Ohtani, a player on my California Angels. As a big Angels follower, I'm very dialed in to Ohtani rumors.

Everybody knows Ohtani prefers the west coast due to the easier air travel to and from Japan. So suck on that Mets, who have the most money and their GM Billy Eppler was the Angels GM when the Angels signed Ohtani originally. Mets fans are convinced he's as good as signed already. But he won't sign there, **** them.

The Dodgers went full austerity mode this prior offseason, not spending much while letting big name players walk. League circles suspect this is because they plan on making Ohtani the highest paid athlete ever this coming offseason. Whatwhawha is correct - I've heard 50 million per. This could very well happen.

But people forget that the Angels werent good when Ohtani originally signed there, and it didn't stop him then. There hasnt been a lot of clarity why he chose them, but here is something I bet y'all didnt know. Ohtani and his interpreter Ippei are tight and he has been with Ohtani since well before he came tp the MLB. They go back. And guess where Ippei is actually from? Where he was born and lives? Not somewhere in Japan! The correct answer is Orange County California. Leage circles believe Ippei is a key reason why Ohtani chose Anaheim - he talked up the town and Ohtani wanted in.

Another factor: Japanese people value loyalty. They arent as mercernary like as Americans, willing to sign anywhere to get MuH RiNgZ. Ohtani would much prefer to win with the only American organization he has known than to just go to the local hated rival to slightly up his chances at mUh PoStSeaSoN AppEAranCeS. The truth is most all teams that try to win will make the playoffs cause the playoffs have been expanded and watered down to near meaninglessness. With LAD he could often be a 1 or 2 seed and with Anaheim it will be a 5 or 6 seed. Not that big of a deal.

Lastly, consider Moreno spends big when he wants a player, as big as anyone, and that he considers the Dodgers his biggest rival and it would kill him to have his star attraction headlining down in LA for the Dodgers. He will do whatever he can to prevent that, including matching their contract offer. He has already refused to trade Ohtani at the very real risk of him walking for nothing. I suspect this is because he has no intention of Ohtani ever wearing a different MLB uniform.

So for the preceding reasons, your boy VK says Ohtani aint going anywhere, suckerfish Met and Yankee and Dodger and Giants and Mariners fans. Find your own damn talent. Angels are gonna keep theirs.
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