"I watch Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw" - When Shohei Ohtani picked the players he wished to face before his MLB move
Shohei Ohtani said in an archived "60 Minutes" interview that he wanted to face three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw when he bats and Bryce Harper when Shotime pitches.
"I watch Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw. Yeah, unlike me, Kershaw is a lefty. I actually do see myself, and I try throwing lefty sometimes," Ohtani said.
Ohtani was 22 years old and still playing with the Nippon-Ham Fighters when interviewer Jon Wertheim traveled to Japan to interview him. Shotime expressed a wish to play in Major League Baseball.
When asked who would be his two favorite MLB players to face, Shotime replied with two names: Kershaw, then of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Harper, who now plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. Ohtani gave his reasons for attempting to pitch with his left hand just like Kershaw did and to develop the game-reading abilities and brute hitting strength of Bryce Harper.
Ohtani, 29, joined the perennial pennant-contending Los Angeles Dodgers instead of the struggling Los Angeles Angels, capping one of the most widely watched free-agency courtships in baseball history, in December.
The agreement was for a 10-year contract worth $700 million, a sum that significantly exceeds all previous MLB contracts in terms of average yearly value and total compensation.
However, Ohtani's contract contains extraordinary deferrals, with the Dodgers giving him $2 million per year for 10 seasons before paying him $68 million annually for the ensuing 10.
Shohei Ohtani brings two-way talent to the Dodgers like no other
Shohei Ohtani is a dynamic entity who brings a lot to the Los Angeles table. He is more to the Dodgers than just a player. Ohtani is a world unto himself. He is a brand, an economy and an icon who connects to a nation that worships him, an adoptive nation that is growing more and more enamored with him and a global community that would identify him with their colors and emblem.
Apart from the potential financial benefits and championships, the greatest enjoyment he might provide could be the chance to witness the most skilled player in baseball history up close each day. Shotime even aided the LA management in sealing the deal for his younger version in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.