By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS, Rafu Sports Editor
In front of hundreds of reporters on Thursday, Shohei Ohtani seemed fully at ease answering all questions lobbed at him.
He discussed winning, the negotiations that resulted in the largest contract in sports history, the status of his recovery from elbow sugery.
But the question that the world really wanted answered came near the end of the press conference, and a hushed crowd waited for the answer with bated breath:
“What’s your dog’s name?”
The answer: Dekopin. It’s Japanese for the act of playfully flicking someone’s forehead, often as a penalty in a kids’ game.
“I figured it would be hard for people over here to pronounce it,” he said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “He has an American name. It’s Decoy, so you can call him Decoy or Dekopin.”
The other business of the day was the formal introduction of the Dodgers’ new marquee player. It wasn’t officially official until about 40 minutes prior to the press event – that’s when Ohtani actually signed the 10-year, $700 million contract.
Ohtani was likely the most highly sought free agent in major league history, with a slew of teams coveting his services. In the end, his choice came down to winning.
Ohtani said he was particularly impressed with the Dodger management’s steadfast commitment to be the very best of the best.
“When they look back at the last 10 years, even though they made the playoffs every single year, and won one World Series, they consider that a failure,” he said.
After the conference, Ohtani told Access SportsNet that he was as surprised as anyone at the rumors last Friday, that he was on a chartered flight to Toronto on the way to sign with the Blue Jays.
“I hadn’t seen the news, but people were calling and asking if I was on my way to Toronto, so I became aware of that,” he explained. “I was at home on the couch with my dog, so that news came as a surprise.”
Also said to have been in close contention to sign Ohtani were the Chicago Cubs as well as the San Francisco Giants, who reportedly were presented with essentially the same offer as the Dodgers to sign him.
Ohtani declined to comment on any of his negotiations with other teams, out of respect to those clubs’ ongoing offseason efforts.
Dodger manager Dave Roberts, whose lineup next season will boast an embarassment of riches, is now likely the most admired skipper in all of baseball.
“I’m still in the ‘pinch me’ phase, to be quite honest,” Roberts said, adding that even amid Thursday’s announcement, he was being reminded that this was all real. “I’m excited and can’t believe we’re gonna have an opportunity to have him wear a Dodger uniform – you know, one of the most talented players ever to put on a baseball uniform is now a Dodger.”
When asked how he would feel playing in Los Angeles with its large Japanese American community, Ohtani said he was looking forward to learning more about the local fans.
If there was any wrinkle in Ohtani’s free agency after six seasons with the Angels, it was the unknowns surrounding the health of his pitching arm. A ligament tear in his elbow required a second surgery that will prevent him from taking the mound at all in 2024.
He said Thursday that he is fully confident of being able to assume the designated hitter role, however, when the Dodgers open next season against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
“I’ve been taking dry hacks, or dry swings, the last week, so I’m on a really good pace to be ready for Opening Day,” he said.