Despite the awards, adoration, and a massive contract, legacy means a great deal to Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani. The reigning National League MVP understands that athletic ability is a gift with an expiration date. As a result, he began to worry about perception and how history will view him throughout eternity.
How a player presents themself on the field matters to an athlete who prides themself on what they look like, from a baseball standpoint. Most importantly, Ohtani wonders aloud what his future self will look like at the plate, in the field, or on the bases.
Shohei Ohtani’s Concerns About Contract Length
Arguably the best player of this generation, Ohtani’s ability to affect a game knows no bounds. He can hit a fastball out of the ballpark, draw a walk, or steal a base. Fundamentally, he’s a player who hits home runs, but not a home run hitter.
The four-time All-Star doesn’t try to press or do too much when he bats. His calm approach unleashes a violent swing that changes the landscape of the individual game. Yet, one thought apparently crossed Ohtani’s mind that connects fans to him. On Dec. 11, 2023, the three-time MVP signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
Through the raised eyebrows of cynics, apparently, no one fretted more than the player himself. According to his agent, Nez Balelo, Ohtani voiced concerns over the 10-year deal.
“He just didn’t want to have the end of his storybook career tail off,” Balelo told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “And then in Year 13, 14, and 15: ‘Who is this guy? He can’t even run down to first.’”
Seeing the long game, Ohtani didn’t want to be another legend that overstayed his welcome and tarnished his legacy in the process. In baseball, like many sports, some icons stay too long and leave fans with the lasting memory of those final years instead of the prime ones when they stood atop their profession.
For example, Willie Mays, as a New York Met, sits as a prime example of what Ohtani’s agent mentioned. In 135 games from 1972 to 1973, the legend batted .238 with 14 home runs and 44 runs batted in. Worse, recollections of Mays stumbling around the outfield, unable to track fly balls, resonate to this day. No one needed to ever see that.
At the end of his current deal, Ohtani will be 39 years of age. With his legacy secured along with the $680 million bag of back-loaded cash, he can walk away from the game with the same respect and adoration as he did when he took Cleveland pitcher Josh Tomlin deep for his first major league home run on April 3, 2018. While Father Time is undefeated, all Ohtani wants to do is leave before his play truly suffers.