It’s almost ShoTime and, yes, this time one of the most famous athletes in the world actually will be on the plane bound for Toronto.
Of the many compelling storylines for the 2025 World Series — which lifts off on Friday night at the Rogers Centre — Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani will be the brightest one.
A global superstar, a player who is revolutionizing his sport and a game-changer in every arena he has visited in his celebrated career, returns both to the World Series and to a city he seemingly spurned just 22 months ago.
Yes, adding to the layers of anticipation for this, Ohtani’s second trip to the World Series, is his high-profile dalliance with the Blue Jays during his free agency dance following the end of the 2023 season.
A massive, world-wide audience will zoom in on downtown Toronto for Friday’s opener of the best-of-seven series. And Ohtani’s link to Toronto, however fleeting it was, will be a much talked about element to the narrative.
The flight-tracker story, tired as it is, has become a punchline for the Jays this week, but at least this time the American League champions share the headlines with Ohtani in a more positive light.
With that, here’s what you need to know about the 31-year-old former Los Angeles Angel and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighter.
How close were Jays to landing Ohtani?
We begin our primer with Ohtani’s celebrated flirtation with the Jays, a courtship that got heated at the Winter Meetings in Nashville in early Dec. 2023.
It was there that the cloak-and-dagger element of the free-agent pursuit unfolded. It began on a day when the Jays announced that GM Ross Atkins was forgoing his daily in-person meeting with the media and would be available by Zoom.
Reporters (this one included) scrambled to their hotel rooms to participate, only to see Atkins with a blank background that we would later learn was in Dunedin, Fla., where Ohtani was touring the Jays facilities.
How close were they? While many believed the Dodgers always were going to land the most-celebrated free agent in baseball history — which they did with that 10-year, $700-million US deal — the Jays were every much in the game.
“Now it feels a little like the show The Bachelor, waiting to see if we get picked,” a high-placed source told the Toronto Sun while in Nashville. The same source, familiar with the Jays offer, said that owner Rogers had put its “best foot forward.”
Losing out on Ohtani had both an immediate and lingering impact on the Jays. With so much time spent attempting to consummate the deal, it was a lacklustre off-season which led to a 74-win, last-place 2024.
But the willingness to spend didn’t wane and the Jays had a much better off-season, and then locked up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to his record $500-million US deal in April.
And, now, both of the primary Shohei suitors will meet in the World Series.
How hard can Ohtani hit it?
While we’re reasonably certain the Rogers Centre roof is safe, one of the most famous blasts of Ohtani’s career punctured a hole in the Tokyo Dome during his early pro days back in Japan.
It happened during the 2016 WBSC Global Series game when Ohtani belted a ball that was projected to travel 525 feet — had it not ripped through the ceiling of the Tokyo Dome first.
That won’t happen in Toronto, however, given that the Rogers Centre roof is 282 feet above field level, as opposed to the 184 feet of the Tokyo Dome.
Another head-turning example of that power: In 2021, when he began pitching, Ohtani became the first player to throw a 100 mph fastball and hit a 100 mph fastball in the same game, a feat that defies credulity.
How mad will the media frenzy be?
Wherever Ohtani lands, as befitting a superstar of his status, the travelling road show follows.
A Japanese media contingent that could reach as high as 100 people will be chronicling his every move in Toronto and at the Rogers Centre, breathlessly dispatching updates back to the homeland.
There are some logistical concerns with the attention, of course, but the Dodgers and Major League Baseball are getting used to it by now. TV ratings will be huge in Japan and, with Ohtani leading the way, the massive Southern California TV market will be well served.
As for Ohtani’s public presence, there’s not much beyond what he does on the mound in the batter’s box. His comments are limited, often to once a week, and are translated from Japanese to English.
Everything you need to know about the man
Some quick hits on Ohtani:
Listed at 6-foot-3, 231 pounds, Ohtani bats left as a designated hitter and throws right as a starting pitcher. He is lethal at both tasks.
His professional debut came for the Fighters, a famed franchise of the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB), on March 29, 2013. His legend was forged there over five spectacular seasons, making Ohtani one of the most-desired international free agents in the sport’s history.
The Los Angeles Angels secured his North American rights and Ohtani made his MLB debut for the Anaheim-based team on March 29, 2018.
After spending six disappointing seasons, results wise, with the Angels, his shift to the big-spending, powerhouse Dodgers vaulted Ohtani into a different stratosphere.
In leading that Los Angeles team to a World Series title, he did so in his first MLB post-season experience.
What are Ohtani’s biggest achievements?
Ohtani won his first of three MVP Awards (two in the AL, one in the NL) in 2021 after hitting 46 homers and striking out 156 batters. It was with that dual-threat dominance that his reputation was cemented.
Ohtani was unable to pitch in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery, but he still flourished as the Dodgers DH as he became the first player in history to record at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.
But the most impressive of those two-way accomplishments is one of the most recent and took place during his one start against the Brewers in the NLCS.
Breathtakingly, Ohtani belted three home runs in that game — including one 469-foot monster hit clear out of Dodger Stadium — while striking out 10 Brewers hitters. It is being hailed, without dispute, as the greatest single-game performance in baseball history.
What about Decoy the dog?
For fans who can’t get enough of Ohtani, his dog Decoy has become a celebrity himself, often appearing in Instagram posts with him.
And there is a hilarious story relayed by writer Keegan Matheson in his terrific book The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays, from the visit to Dunedin in which Decoy was wearing a Canadian dog jacket the team had purchased for him.
In fact, the Jays also had a locker done up for Ohtani, complete with team gear, stuff that he later loaded up to take with him, leaving the facility with a Jays cap on his head.
Whether that inspired optimism among the Jays management group, it’s difficult to say. But it was the closest they ever got to landing the superstar object of their desires.
How has Ohtani fared against the Blue Jays?
In his career, Ohtani has hit 11 home runs against the Jays, most of them impressive in their own way.
The one with the most impact, however, was the blast on April 26, 2024, his first visit to the Rogers Centre since spurning the Canadian team.
Booed lustily by the crowd as he came to the plate in the first inning, Ohtani promptly deposited a ball over the right-field wall, the early strike in a 12-2 Dodgers win over the Jays.
“Not surprised,” Ohtani said following the game when asked for his reaction to the crowd. “I really do feel that the fans here are passionate and when they are, that’s the kind of reception they probably (will have).
“I’m just very grateful and respectful that the fans here are that passionate.”
What happened with the flight that never was?
And, finally, the flight the Dec. 2023 flight to Toronto that never happened and a story that has become a punchline this week.
On Dec. 8, 2023, reports exploded that Ohtani was aboard a private plane from Orange County, Calif., to Toronto and that he even had reservations at a downtown Japanese restaurant.
The frenzy soon was out of control with flight trackers and media rushing to Pearson airport to document the arrival.
In the end, on the plane from California was Canadian investor Robert Herjavec.
Within days, Ohtani signed his historic 10-year deal to remain in California, the ultimate rejections for Canada’s lone MLB team.