Shohei Ohtani (29) has decided to transfer to the Dodgers in the National League West. The contract amount is the largest in the history of major league baseball, totaling 700 million dollars over 10 years, or about 101.5 billion yen in Japanese yen. We asked Hideki Kuriyama, Ohtani's mentor and former manager of Samurai Japan, who won the world championship with Ohtani at the WBC World Baseball Classic. [Evaluation as the "highest amount in sports history"] (Q. What was your first feeling when the transfer to the Dodgers was decided?) First of all, I felt relieved in a sense that the team was decided and that it was a big contract. I feel glad. (Q. What do you think about the evaluation that the contract is the highest amount in the history of professional sports?) It's a huge amount, but I was really happy to be evaluated so highly, and I think he is a player worth that much. (Q. It's hard to imagine that Ohtani was obsessed with the money itself, right?) Yes. He wasn't obsessed with money, not himself, but the fact that Japanese and Asian players were being evaluated on the stage of the American Major League Baseball. He had in mind the raising of the baseball world as a whole, and although it may have been the amount, he wanted to be properly evaluated. I think that's what he valued. (Q: The fact that Otani is being treated as a top-class player in America is spreading his impact on baseball.) I think so. There are various ways to make a contract, but it's not all about yourself, it's all about the people around you. There's a story about a contract where you take a little bit of your salary and put it off. For the team that wins, you create a situation where you can get better and better batters and better pitchers. That makes the fans happy, the team happy. You're happy too. You can think about it yourself, so in that sense, I think it will be announced, but I think it's ridiculously low. I don't really understand, but I think that's how it feels. (Q: So it took so long to get the contract because you were working out those things.) So you received a total evaluation including those things. So I think I thought that what I was trying to do and that I had been sincerely working on baseball were not wrong. [The deciding factor in choosing the Dodgers] Since it was before the press conference, there was no explanation from Ohtani himself, but for Ohtani, the Dodgers matched him in many ways. They are a perennial winning team that has been in the playoffs for 11 consecutive years. In terms of the environment, they are in California, just like the Angels. Furthermore, the surgeon who performed Tommy John surgery is the team doctor, and there is a support system in place. Also, it is a team full of "Ohtani love" that has been paying attention to Ohtani since his high school days and has sent him love calls every time he joined the Nippon Ham Fighters and the Angels. (Q. What do you think was the deciding factor?) Of course, there are various conditions for the environment in which you play baseball, such as a warm climate and an environment where it is easy to win, but after sorting through those, I think there were a few teams left. In the end, I think it was "evaluation." How much do they value you? It's not about the amount of money, but I think it's important because I think it will lead to the next baseball world. (Q. Why do you think they placed so much value on him?) Everyone tends to forget, but Shohei had surgery and is undergoing rehabilitation. Despite that, he received such high praise. In fact, the biggest negative thing for a baseball player is to be out of the game due to injury. However, Shohei played as a batter even during rehabilitation in 2018 and 2019. He will play as a batter even during rehabilitation next year. A normal player may be out of the game for nearly three years. However, because he is a two-way player, he continued to evolve while playing in games and became such a player. I wonder if this is what the true meaning of two-way play is. The two-way play is an environment where you want to continue playing baseball and continue to play in games. He made the choice to move forward. I feel that it is so wonderful. I think Shohei did a great job there. (Q. I heard that the Dodgers had been approaching him since his high school days, but what kind of team are the Dodgers from your perspective, Mr. Kuriyama?) Historically, they have contributed to Japanese baseball, and there is no doubt that they are a team with a deep connection. I watched him all the time when Nomo was pitching, so it was incredibly close. (Q: Even when he was with Nippon-Ham, I was pushing him to go to the major leagues. Many teams put their name forward, but it was the Angels at that time. Was it because he had two-way play in mind?) I think it's true that it was an environment where two-way play was easy. That's a bit of a subtle way of saying it. I think Shohei Ohtani's baseball should be based on two-way play, so I think he probably had a team that could push that forward. (Q: He's coming back as a two-way player and winning. He's looking at it in the long term, isn't he?) I think there were several teams like that, not just the Dodgers. I think in a sense, it's an evaluation of how much he is needed as a two-way player, and I think he thought he could play his own baseball at the Dodgers, including the evaluation. [Otani's "determination" on Instagram] This is a message posted by Ohtani on social media. "Dear Dodgers fans, I promise to do my best for the team and to always give my all so that I can be at my best. Until the last day of my baseball career, I would like to continue to work hard not only for the Dodgers but also for the baseball world." (Q. I will be 39 in 10 years, so in a sense, it sounded like you will bury your bones with the Dodgers and work hard for the entire baseball world.) That's right. I think Shohei has had that feeling even with the Angels. He has always thought, "Today is the game of my life." He will do the same when he is with the Dodgers. However, when the time comes, there may be cases where we consider the benefits for both sides and move on to the next step, and I think it is proof that he is always putting everything into baseball. I think it is also proof that he is doing it with the entire baseball world in mind. ["Speculation" flies around and the media is confused] (Q. There was a lot of confusing information, but how did you see it?) It is because we don't know that everyone can say "this and that". I was very grateful that baseball will be excited again. However, this is an unrelated story, but I said that I was extremely relieved when the contract was decided, but actually, everyone tends to forget, but when I went to America at 23 years old, Shohei would be 25 if I waited two more years. At that time, I would be able to make a big contract. When we flew out before that, it was ultimately our decision, but the most difficult thing was "when should I go?" I checked with Shohei almost every month. It was a season when he was injured, but he didn't mention it at all, and at the end he said, "Please convince me why I'm going to America this year." At that time, Shohei said, "Coach, it doesn't matter if we succeed or fail. There are players who are better than us. We're going to fight for them. That's all. You don't have to think about anything else." For me, it was the moment when I confirmed that it was "now," and because he was heading towards baseball with that kind of resolve, he was able to make a big contract like this one. I thought that this is what people's way of life is like. [What is the role of Otani, the super heavy hitter?] The Dodgers have one of the heaviest hitters in the majors, but according to the MLB channel's predictions, Otani will be the second batter. Looking on either side of him, first batter Betts has 39 home runs, and third batter Freeman has 29. Including Otani, the three have hit over 100 home runs. Furthermore, all three have won MVP awards. (Q: What would you think if the opposing team's batting lineup was like this?) It's really scary. It's like watching the American team from Samurai Japan. I really hated Betts. However, Shohei is already the second batter, isn't he? I'm not an expert on baseball, but I put him at third during the WBC. When he's in second batter, this is a strange worry, but he tries to avoid double plays and runs as hard as he can. It's fine for him to run, but there are various worries, such as him getting injured when he doesn't need to run, so I think it would be better to get another player who can play more, and make Shohei the "third batter". I think that would be the closest to the best in the world. So I think Shohei lowered his salary to create a situation where a player could be acquired. This is just my own speculation. Shohei has absolute trust, so the most important thing is whether he can function there for a year. I think he will be kept at a good level. When I think about that, I think about situations where he might get injured and other worries. Sorry, this is personal. (Q. With so many players lined up, won't there be more situations where Otani will challenge him?) I don't like situations where I have to swing at balls, so I think the other team thinks the same, and when there are a lot of batters lined up, that will happen, so I'm looking forward to that. (Q. If that happens, he'll be a triple crown winner too.) However, if he concentrates on batting, he may start thinking only about batting and do unnecessary things. So I don't think it's necessarily okay to have just one batter. His main role is playing two-way, so he simply plays baseball. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out next year. Thank you, Kuriyama-san, for today. [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp