When Shohei Ohtani’s name was announced as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers starting lineup at the Rogers Center Friday night, Blue Jays fans rained boos onto the superstar slugger.
That is understandable, given that their team was once in the right contention to sign the two-way player last December.
When Ohtani took the plate for his first at-bat of the game, those boos got even louder. But it took Ohani all of three pitches to silence those in attendance. Chris Bassitt’s first pitch was taken for a strike, while his second, another sinker, was right in the top of the strike zone, getting called a ball.
And when Bassitt put a slider inside on Ohtani, he launched it 360 feet into the right-center field as the Rogers Center crowd fell silent.
So much for the boo’s working.
The Blue Jays had been heavy suitors for Ohtani’s services in free agency this past winter. So much so that the club had reportedly ponied up an offer close to the 10-year, $700-million USD deal he inked with the Dodgers.
And when inaccurate reports on Dec. 8 not only placed him on a jet to Toronto, according to the MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, but actually agreeing to a contract with the Blue Jays, according to Dodgers Nation’s JP Hoonstra, Toronto was elated. The tracking of a jet sent the country into baseball fever, only to find out it was actually one belonging to Canadian businessman Robert Herjavec. The next morning, Ohtani would announce via an Instagram post he would sign in Los Angeles.
It was a one-time offer for Ohtani, as the Jays would never replicate similar spending in the offseason, instead signing Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Justin Turner, and Yariel Rodriguez.
Ohtani, meanwhile, has been off to an excellent start as the Dodgers’ designated hitter, slashing .358/.419/.670 for a 1.089 OPS with an MLB-leading 14 doubles. His home run in his first at-bat Friday will only help increase those numbers.
The Dodgers are in Toronto for a three-game set that kicked off Friday night running through Sunday.
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