Kobe Bryant pitched the Dodgers to Shohei Ohtani in 2017 video. Japanese star finally saw it
Late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant recorded a video message for Shohei Ohtani to help the Dodgers recruit the Japanese baseball star in 2017.
Ohtani didn’t see it back then, but he did view it six years later, when the Dodgers were again recruiting the two-time American League MVP as a free agent.
The team showed the video to Ohtani during his free agent visit to Dodger Stadium on Dec. 1, according to sources who have knowledge of the meeting but are unauthorized to discuss it publicly.
Ohtani is now a Dodger, having signed a $10-year, $700-million deal with the team and appearing in an introductory news conference last week.
While Shohei Ohtani will enhance the Dodgers’ brand, he will also affect his teammates’ everyday experiences, and the team should be mindful of this reality.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan were the first to report that the Dodgers played the video for Ohtani during the meeting. The two-way superstar told ESPN through his interpreter that it was “one of the highlights of the whole meeting.”
The Dodgers, who declined to comment for this story, were one of a number of teams that met with Ohtani in late 2017 as he was transitioning from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan to Major League Baseball. He ended up signing with the Angels.
According to one of The Times’ sources, the Dodgers would have used the Bryant video that year if they received a second meeting with Ohtani. When that didn’t happen, the source said, the team saved it for when Ohtani hit the free-agent market again.
Dodger Stadium is selling Shohei Ohtani jerseys for $238. Fanatics said that new Dodger has broken its sales record for jerseys in their first 48 hours of availability.
Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020.
A source told The Times that the contents of Bryant’s message to Ohtani were private. ESPN reported that Ohtani was taken aback to hear the legendary figure say his name.
“It was a strong and touching message,” Ohtani told ESPN of the video.
Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this report.
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