It’s not usual to have a World Series full of baseball superstars, but I think most fans would agree that this year’s competition has one who outshines the competition: Shohei Ohtani. Any doubters have been silenced by the LA Dodgers’ final National League Championship Series game last weekend, when he put on what was likely the greatest single-game performance in the history of Major League Baseball, pitching six shutout innings and hitting three mammoth home runs.
For those who aren’t wowed by baseball stats, Ohtani’s star quality is also evident in his economic impact. His contract with the Dodgers pays him $700 million over 10 years. That’s a big number. Yet the team made back that entire outlay in less than two seasons via increased ticket and merchandise sales and marketing deals in Japan and around the world. In other words, even at $700 million, Ohtani is almost certainly underpaid compared to the revenue he generates.