Shohei Ohtani probably should not be holding his breath for a tribute video from his former club.
Sam Blum of The Athletic reported this week on the state of affairs ahead of Ohtani’s return to Anaheim as a visitor this week. Ohtani, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be returning to Angel Stadium for the first time as an official opponent when the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels meet for a two-game set starting on Tuesday.
Blum notes that the Angels currently have no plans to honor Ohtani before Tuesday’s game. While an Angels spokesperson did note that those plans could still change, time is running out for the team to change their mind.
Ohtani, who did notably get a video tribute from the Angels when he was in town with the Dodgers for a preseason game in March, clearly deserves the recognition. He chose the Angels as a free agent after being posted by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2017 and delivered some of the most electrifying play that the Angels franchise (and Major League Baseball for that matter) had ever seen.
A two-time AL MVP as an Angel, Ohtani routinely made the impossible possible with the franchise. He blossomed into an unheard-of two-way MLB superstar, clubbing 171 homers at the plate and striking out 608 batters over the course of his time in Anaheim. Though he only played six total seasons for the team, Ohtani has a slam-dunk argument for being one of the most significant and memorable players in all of Angels franchise history.
Naysayers will point to the fact though that Ohtani was never able to lead the Angels to a single playoff appearance (or even a single winning season for that matter). It also does not help Ohtani’s legacy in Anaheim that he ended up joining their most hated rivals in the Dodgers.
Still though, there were indications that Ohtani never wanted to leave the club in the first place, and that it was instead Angels owner Arte Moreno’s apparent refusal to match Ohtani’s big $700 million contract offer from the Dodgers that ultimately led to the superstar’s departure. As such, hopefully the Angels’ fans still give Ohtani the warm welcome that he deserves this week (even if the franchise itself will likely not be doing so).
