6 Comments

Seems like the now reported deferred structure of the payouts also brings the time adjusted value of the contract closer to what Ohtani should actually be worth

Expand full comment

Yes! I suppose a once-in-a-lifetime player like Shohei deserves a contract that also is unlike anything we've ever seen.

I'm now wondering if this might mean Ohtani is actually being drastically *underpaid* because he is only basically getting the value of his future WAR without much extra for the additional considerations like marketing/sponsorships/fanbase growth from the Dodgers' perspective. (Plus giving them all of that financial flexibility... for now.)

Expand full comment

This article did not age well.

Expand full comment

That’s fair. This was before we knew how much of his deal was deferred, which changed the present value of his total contract amount, but I also underestimated just how valuable he would be as a batter only.

Expand full comment

Another awesome piece - I'm working on one about Ohtani myself. Curious who those first few hitting and pitching comps are for him if you have them handy.

Expand full comment

Thanks! The top 5 for each (with the injury being accounted for) were:

Hitting:

1. Gene Tenace

2. Howard Johnson

3. Bert Campaneris

4. Jeff Heath

5. Max Carey

Pitching:

1. Kevin Tapani

2. Eric Gagne

3. Andy Ashby

4. Jim Bagby

5. Fred Hutchinson

Expand full comment