User talk:"One minute per swing?" Ohtani was surprised and WS-winning veteran was also surprised. "I've never seen a player train like that."
Shohei Ohtani, a man worth 700 million U.S. dollars, was a perfect player just by watching him train next to him. At least that's what Chris Taylor, his teammate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, thought.
In an interview with Dodgers Nation, a local U.S. media outlet that mainly covers the Los Angeles Dodgers, Taylor stressed on Jan. 31 (Korea Standard Time), "It's important for baseball that the best baseball players (Otani) are in the LA Dodgers, one of the most popular baseball teams. I don't think it's a bad thing. We're just recruiting players."
The Los Angeles Dodgers became the final winner of the off-season as they aggressively engaged in recruitment campaigns this winter. It started when Yoshinobu Ohtani and Yamamoto, 26, who were considered the biggest "one-two punch" in the free agency market, signed 10-year, 12-year, and 325 million U.S. dollars, respectively. Then, they acquired Tyler Glasnow (30) as a first-round pick from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade and signed a five-year contract worth 136.5 million dollars. They signed a one-year free agent contract with Teoscar Hernandez, a big-name outfielder, for 23.5 million dollars, and added James Paxton as a one-year starting pitcher for 11 million dollars. It added stability to the rotation.
What's surprising is that the Los Angeles Dodgers already won 100 games in the regular season last year. Moreover, it is the strongest team in the National League West from 2013 to last year except for the 2021 season. The reason why the team was able to create a super team by recruiting the most powerful star players one after another was because of Ohtani's groundbreaking contract with the Big Dipper.
Ohtani offered dipper contracts to teams seeking to recruit him first, and paid 97 percent of the 700 million dollars over 10 years starting in 2034, lowering the luxury tax levied on him to 46 million dollars per year. The 46 million dollars was a record breaking the average annual salary in the Major League, but it was definitely lower than the 70 million dollars. For this reason, the U.S. was criticized as an evil empire in the 21st century. Japanese media FullCount, which reported the news, also said, "The LA Dodgers' massive reinforcement this offseason is controversial." Taylor directly countered, "Whether they like us or not, everyone enjoys watching us on TV."
Whatever the reason, Taylor seems to have been very satisfied with the addition of Ohtani, who is considered the best baseball player in the world. Taylor, who is currently doing personal training with Ohtani, and some of his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates were very surprised to see Ohtani's batting practice. Typically, a single swing in a batting cage takes less than 30 seconds. However, Ohtani admired his teammates by dedicating as much as one minute to each swing.
"It takes 20 minutes for Ohtani to make 20 swings in the batting cage," Taylor said. "Whenever I swing, I pause for a moment to analyze the situation and take a break at the batter's box. I've never seen a player who uses it so much. That's how focused he is. Whether he practices batting in the cage or dashes in the outfield, he seems to imagine himself playing in the game."
He was the type of player that Taylor, an 11th-year MLB veteran, had never seen before. Taylor, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round of the 2012 rookie draft, made his big league debut in 2014. He later reached his peak by being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. He contributed to the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2020 World Series championship by playing all positions, excluding catchers and pitchers, and became a utility player representing the Major League Baseball. His overall performance includes 978 games with a batting average of 0.254 (796 hits in 3139 at-bats), 104 homers, 408 RBIs, 84 steals, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.763.
Because Ohtani was such an incredible player, it was only natural that he won the first two unanimous MVPs in the Major League and received a $700 million contract. Taylor said, "Ohtani is so good for me. How to approach training is second to none. Everything he does is very meticulous. This is very special for Ohtani."
