Former Giants player Buster Posey believes crime and drugs were the reasons that kept Shohei Ohtani from joining the San Francisco club.
He told The Athletic on Wednesday, four days after the Major League Baseball superstar signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Posey was part of the delegation that met with Ohtani to convince him to join the Giants. The 36-year-old played all 12 of his major league seasons for the California club, winning the World Series three times.
AFP
“There is something that I think is important to note. Unfortunately, this comes up again and again among players and even players' wives. There is a certain unease in the city itself. It’s about the state of the city, crime and drugs,” said the former insolvency administrator.
Posey clarified that Ohtani never spoke about it explicitly, but that some people around him had “reservations about the east side of town.”
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In recent years, the Giants have always been in play when it comes to star players taking advantage of their autonomy, but have never been able to convince them. This was particularly the case with Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Seiya Suzuki.
“It’s a frustrating cycle, not just in baseball,” Posey said. Baseball is secondary to the important things in life. But as far as free agents go, I saw it had an impact.