I wouldn’t have missed Tuesday night’s finals of the World Baseball Classic for anything in the world. At the end of the tournament, the fans experienced the desired confrontation. On the hill Shohei Ohtani, two meters tall. At bat, his Angels teammate, behemoth Mike Trout. A scenario worthy of a Hollywood movie.
The ending was amazing!
Trout returned to the dugout, teeth clenched, shaking his head in frustration after firing into the void on a slippery Japanese pitcher.
Shouting out in satisfaction, Ohtani threw up his hat and glove before his teammates came to pounce on him.
The euphoria of victory for one, the agony of defeat for the other.
Ohtani was crowned MVP of the tournament. The honor was due to him.
As Rodger Brulotte likes to say, the 28-year-old is neither the best shot nor the best hitter. He’s the best player.
Ohtani can hit every day and throw every four or five days.
What would be better?
A treat for the eyes
This tournament will have featured quality baseball.
And what was the atmosphere like in the stands?
There’s nothing like an international competition to spark passion, and baseball is no exception.
Recently, young Japanese guys with trumpets played all sorts of tunes throughout the evening.
During matches with the Latin American formations, their supporters were made up and dressed in all the colors as only they can.
The Arozarena Phenomenon
How not to mention Randy Arozarena in this context?
What a phenomenon!
We spotted him warming up before the game with cowboy boots on his feet and a sombrero on his head. He interacted with viewers, even going so far as to sign autographs during pitching changes.
If Ohtani was the most useful player for his team in the competition, Arozarena will have been his biggest ambassador.
The Mexican converted to Cuban does not make inappropriate gestures. He does not taunt the opponent. He is refreshing and friendly to the viewers.
And he has a lot of talent!
Baseball needs players like him to democratize and get closer to the fans.
Return of the best Americans
The presence of many American star players added to the spectacle. The Amerloques had had their ears pricked since their debacle in the first tournament, presented in 2006.
The United States placed eighth that year with a team that included future Baseball Hall of Famers such as Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones.
Also on the list were Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez, who ruined their chances of building the temple by using steroids.
America’s top players avoided the next two tournaments in 2009 and 2013 because they didn’t want to be embarrassed again on a global scale. In 2017 they finally won with a good team.
Disappointing odds in the US
There was no shortage of star players this year. Alongside Trout were Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Adam Wainwright.
While American players showed greater interest in the tournament, US television ratings were disappointing.
A peak audience of 2.26 million viewers was recorded last Saturday at the quarterfinal match between the American team and Cuba.
The following day’s semi-final between the United States and Cuba was watched by 1.095 million viewers.
That’s a minimum, not to say, minimum, compared to Japan, where around 93.6 percent of TVs watched Monday night’s semi-final between the national team and Mexico.
It’s packed at the fair!
More than 50 million?
Shohei Ohtani is set to make $30 million this year with the Los Angeles Angels. And he’ll test the free-agent market at the end of the season.
His agent Nez Balelo said in February he would not negotiate a contract extension with the Angels, adding that his famous client deserved free agent status.
Good for him!
The Japanese athlete’s next annual salary is 50 million.
That estimate is based on the MLB-high 43.3 million salaries pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander will earn with the New York Mets.
Scherzer is under contract for three years, Verlander for two years.
Rounding out the club’s $40m list is New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year, $360m deal in the winter.
starting point
Coming back to Ohtani with a question: what if 50 million was just a starting point?
Unlike Scherzer and Verlander and like Judge, he can play every day.
As the Angels mourn Ohtani, he will surely find a financially strong owner who will make him an insane offer.
It could be Mets owner Steve Cohen who seems determined to take on any stars that make a move.
We can also think of the Yankees, the Dodgers and the Padres.
Crazy ! you say.
It’s baseball!
