News press conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles 300 reporters gathered "The Dodgers, who do not consider the past 10 years a success, remain in my mind the most."
'Superstar' Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Dodgers) stands in uniform.
Ohtani joined the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA on the 15th (Korean time). A press conference was held.
The induction ceremony was attended by club owner Mark Walter, president Andrew Friedman, and agent Nez Valero. About 300 reporters flocked to see Otani's immense popularity.
Ohtani, who appeared wearing a blue tie symbolizing the Dodgers, announced a new start wearing a Dodgers uniform with number 17 engraved on it.
Ohtani said, “A clear vision aimed at winning. “I am very happy and very excited to become a member of the Dodgers, which has a rich history,” he said. (FA) It was considered by far the biggest word in the market. While love calls from many teams continued, Ohtani took the Dodgers' hand.
Ohtani directly announced his contract with the Dodgers through his social network service (SNS) account on the 10th. Local media reported that Ohtani signed a huge 10-year contract worth $700 million with the Dodgers.
Ohtani, who decided to go to the Dodgers the day before posting on social media, said, “The reason I chose the Dodgers was for one reason. “There were many things, not just one,” he said. “Honestly, all the teams I met were great. It was a really difficult decision for me. In the end, I had to choose a team, and I chose the Dodgers,” he said.
In the meantime, Ohtani focused on the Dodgers’ ‘passion for victory.’
“The words that remained in my mind (during the negotiation process) were, ‘I do not consider the past 10 years that the Dodgers have experienced to be a success at all.’ “I was impressed by how strong everyone’s will to want to win was.” He continued, “The most important thing is that everyone wants to win and everyone is heading in the same direction. He added, “The most important thing was that the team owner, front-end players, and fans were all heading there.”
The Dodgers are a strong team that has won the National League (NL) West division 10 times in the past 11 years. am. In 2020, the club won its 7th World Series championship.
However, the Dodgers were not satisfied with these achievements, and Ohtani, who had a strong desire for 'victory', was also inclined to do so. see. Ohtani, who has been playing in the big leagues wearing the LA Angels uniform since 2018, has not even experienced fall baseball yet.
Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers is attracting attention not only for its enormous size but also for its unusual details.
Ohtani received only $20 million during the contract period with the Dodgers and set a deferred payment plan in which the remaining $680 million would be distributed over 10 years after the end of the contract period.
Ohtani said, “Payment deferment can be included in any large contract for any player, and the percentage is left up to the player,” expressing his willingness to play for less money during the contract period if it can free up the club’s finances. .
In addition, Ohtani also included in the terms of the contract the right to opt out if the team owner and president change. If you opt out, you can cancel the remaining contract and declare free agency.
Ohtani said, “As you can see from the contract form, winning is the top goal. “Winning is the most important thing to me,” he emphasized.
He then added, “I want to aim to win and become an indispensable figure among them. “I think this is a contract that contains such expectations, so I will do my best to live up to those expectations.” There was also a question about the dog he was holding. When the MVP was announced, Otani showed an affectionate appearance by giving a high five to the dog, and the dog immediately attracted a lot of attention from fans. Otani said about his dog, “The name is Decopin. “Here, (Americans) find it difficult to pronounce it, so we introduce it as Dekoi,” he said with a laugh. 스포츠토토맨