The Los Angeles Dodgers gathered up every recruitment tool in the book to lure in Japanese two-way baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani. That includes, reportedly, using a video message from the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
ESPN reports that while the Los Angeles Dodgers had a slew of selling points for Ohtani, not the least of which is a tradition of winning yielding 10 division titles in 11 seasons, something else caught the slugger’s eye.
A video featuring Kobe Bryant, “a figure long associated with Los Angeles sports excellence making the case for him to sign with the Dodgers,” was as played as part of his visit with the team.
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Ohtani Was Moved By Kobe Bryant Video
Bryant seems to have filmed the clip attempting to recruit Shohei Ohtani as a favor to the team back in 2017.
ESPN notes that Bryant’s message was this: “There’s no better place in the world to win than Los Angeles, and there’s no better team in baseball to win with than the Dodgers.”
While it’s being portrayed in some circles as almost a prophetic effort on Bryant’s part, it’s more likely the video was simply recycled from the pitch made by the team in 2017. Several MLB teams were in hot pursuit of Ohtani at the time, and he would sign with the Los Angeles Angels in December of that year.
Ohtani heaped praise upon the video message from Kobe Bryant, indicating it was no small gesture.
“That was one of the highlights of the whole meeting,” Ohtani told ESPN through an interpreter. “I was really surprised to see it. It was a strong and touching message.”
Some People Criticized The Video
Not everybody was enamored with the Dodgers using a posthumous message from Lakers legend Kobe Bryant to entice Shohei Ohtani to join the team.
Bryant tragically perished in a helicopter crash on the outskirts of Los Angeles in 2020. Eight others – including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna – died that day.
“This isn’t, I don’t know, macabre to anyone else?” wrote Deadspin’s Cale Clinton noting a “complicated legacy” left behind by Bryant.
Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in 2003 but prosecutors would drop the case when the accuser became unwilling to testify. A lawsuit on the matter ended in a settlement.
A poll posted to X had over 1,000 respondents with the result showing a split on how people felt about the Dodgers using a video of Byant.
Kobe has long been a fixture at Dodger Stadium. He threw out the first pitch just one week after the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2000. He was 22 at the time.
Earlier this year, 23 years later, Natalia Bryant threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the team celebrated Laker Night at Dodger Stadium.
