SEATTLE ― Shohei Ohtani heard the chants. It was impossible to avoid them.
Possibly bound for the trade block in two weeks and most certainly bound for free agency in the winter, Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park was, in some ways, the first day of the rest of Ohtani’s professional life. A Los Angeles Angel almost in name only now, with his club performing its usual early summer swoon, Ohtani’s next professional destination will soon become, if it isn’t already, the obsession of his industry.
And an overflow crowd of 47,159 loudly reminded him.
“Come to Se-att-le!” the crowd chanted during both of Ohtani’s at-bats, a level of in-person lobbying that just can’t be replicated for any old Angels-Mariners game during the regular season. The hometown Mariners were in the hunt until the very end for Ohtani’s services when he came to Major League Baseball before the 2018 season.
This time, they had a chance to let him know in person how badly they want him.
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“Never experienced anything like that,” Ohtani said through translator Ippei Mizuahara after leaving Tuesday’s game following two at-bats as the designated hitter. “But I definitely heard it. But I was trying to focus on my at-bat.”
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Eh, whatever. A strikeout and a walk in an exhibition game will soon be forgotten. A coast-to-coast recruitment for the greatest two-way player in baseball history – maybe best player, period – will almost certainly trump anything his teams do in the interim.
And the thirst for a man who leads the majors with 32 home runs and has struck out 132 batters in 100 innings was evident from every corner of T-Mobile Park on Tuesday.
As the American League squad prepared for the game in its clubhouse, an interloper suddenly appeared – Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Geraldo Perdomo, a National League All-Star on enemy turf. Perdomo had a bat in hand, and summoned Ohtani to a table, where he found a Sharpie for the global superstar to sign his lumber.
“It was very important,” Perdomo said before Tuesday’s game. “He’s the best player and I was proud to have something from Shohei.
“Like I said, he’s the best.”
The full-court press didn’t stop. Ohtani was asked if players from either squad lobbied him to come to their team next year. Ohtani shifted in his seat, grinned, looked generally uncomfortable and, in so many words, said, “Probably.”
“I would like to keep that a secret,” he said. “Even if someone said that, I don’t think I would be able to say it right here.”
The outpouring from Seattle fans this week – roaring for Julio Rodriguez’s record 41 homers in the first round of the Home Run Derby, all the way to the “Ju-Lee-Oh!” chants as Rodriguez came to bat representing the winning run in the ninth inning Tuesday – was at times overwhelming.
Rodriguez couldn’t make it a storybook moment – he drew a two-out walk before NL closer Craig Kimbrel sealed the 3-2 victory – but the city’s point was made.
“The energy the fans brought was unbelievable,” says Rodriguez. “Seattle definitely showed out.”
As for the Ohtani chants? Rodriguez called it a moment that proved “the whole city, when they can combine themselves, can do something pretty amazing.”
And just what did he ask Ohtani?
“Secrets,” he said, smiling. “You can’t know everything in life.”
Said AL manager Dusty Baker: “I think a lot of people are lobbying for Shohei, to tell you the truth. That was a sign of affection, that they wanted him.”
For Ohtani’s part, he said Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts impressed him with his versatility, which in Betts’ case means playing the infield and outfield, not hitting and pitching, with aplomb.
Cue the Ohtani-to-Dodgers rumors.
Yet on this day, it was Seattle’s turn to shout, to beg, to plead their case for a player who may possibly receive baseball’s first $500 million contract. Ohtani already works out occasionally at the renowned Driveline training facility in Seattle.
Not quite home-field advantage. But enough for a city to dream.
“Every time I come here the fans are passionate, they’re really into the game,” says Ohtani. “So it’s very impressive. I actually spent a couple off-seasons in Seattle.
“I like the city. It’s beautiful.”
The feeling is mutual.
