Former San Francisco Giants legend and current co-owner Buster Posey believes the team lost out on an opportunity to sign Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani due to the city’s reputation for drug, crime, and homeless epidemics.
In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to an historic 10-year, $700 million deal, making him the highest-paid player in MLB history.
Ohtani, a Japanese-born player, has been making waves in Major League Baseball (MLB) since his debut in 2018. He is known for his exceptional skills as both a pitcher and a hitter. Ohtani has already won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award and the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award twice.
Despite it being two completely different eras in baseball, Ohtani often draws comparisons to Babe Ruth as perhaps the greatest player in the history of the game. And he’s only 29-years-old.
A Lot Of Teams Were Looking To Get Ohtani
As you might imagine, the bidding for Shohei Ohtani’s services was intense. The two-way sensation was the hottest commodity on the market with the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Angels all vying for his services.
ESPN reported that the Giants had actually matched the Dodgers offer of a $700 million contract.
“The proposal that was made was very comparable if not identical to what he wound up agreeing to,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi indicated.
So what gave Los Angeles the edge?
RELATED: BOMAN: Even At A Half A Billion? Shohei Ohtani Is Still The Best Bang For Your Buck In Baseball
Did Shohei Ohtani Snub San Francisco Due To The Overwhelming Crime?
Despite matching the Dodgers offer, the Giants failed to sign Shohei Ohtani and Posey seems to think the state of the city itself was a problem.
Posey, in an exclusive conversation with Andrew Baggarly, writer for The Athletic, says San Francisco’s reputation was a problem.
“There’s been a bit of uneasiness with the city itself as far as the state of the city with crime and drugs,” Posey said.
For Giants fans – it gets worse. Posey has indicated the team is having difficulty signing other free agents for the very same reason.
“What I heard from Buster Posey is what I have heard from large employers and what I have heard from businesses that San Francisco needs to do a better job at progress on its public safety challenges,” San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey said.
Not sure why Posey and the rest of the team didn’t just hose San Francisco down like they did when California Governor Gavin Newsom rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Local media outlets noticed and reported that homeless encampments and open-air drug communities had disappeared ahead of Xi’s visit.
When questioned on the matter, Newsom admitted that the cleanup effort was for Xi’s benefit.
“I know folks are saying, ‘Oh they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town,’” he said. “That’s true, because it’s true.”
Maybe Xi brings in more money than Shohei Ohtani would.
