Current:Home > InvestShohei Ohtani hears rare boos from spurned Blue Jays fans - then hits a home run -Nova Finance Academy
Shohei Ohtani hears rare boos from spurned Blue Jays fans - then hits a home run
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:27:31
Shohei Ohtani finally took to the skies in Toronto - at the expense of the Blue Jays, no less.
Hearing boos for one of the few times in his career after erroneous December media reports had him ticketed to join the Blue Jays in free agency, Ohtani silenced the Rogers Centre crowd Friday night with a towering home run in his first at-bat in Toronto since the free agent frenzy.
Ohtani hit his seventh home run of the season off Toronto starter Chris Bassitt, bringing some sense of closure to one of the stranger offseason episodes in major league history.
In case you forgot: An MLB Network report stated Ohtani was on his way to Toronto on Dec. 8, and a separate report indicated Ohtani had reached agreement with the Blue Jays - sparking an online frenzy to track a flight from Southern California to Toronto.
One problem: Ohtani was not on the plane. And no agreement was in place.
MLB SALARIES: Baseball's top 25 highest-paid players in 2024
Instead, a day later, Ohtani announced on Instagram he had reached agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His 10-year, $700 million deal ensured the globe's biggest baseball star would join one of the game's most storied franchises.
It also set the stage for a lackluster offseason for the Blue Jays, who failed to significantly upgrade a playoff team and currently are off to a 13-13 start.
So it was little wonder that the home crowd was a little salty Friday night - not that Ohtani had anything to do with sparking their false hopes nearly five months ago.
"I was as surprised as any fans in terms of the news going around," Ohtani said this week in Washington, via interpreter Will Ireton. "I was just following the news. I knew I wasn’t on that flight, so I was curious, too. But I did meet with the Blue Jays organization and the impression I got was it’s a really, really great organization.
"The fans are great and I love the city too, so I’m really looking forward to going to Toronto."
You'd think it was nothing personal, but Blue Jays fans did not take it that way.
Ohtani's response, then, was strictly business.
veryGood! (26543)
Related
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Colorado Court Strikes Down Local Fracking Restrictions
- Texas Gov. Abbott announces buoy barrier in Rio Grande to combat border crossings
- Florida woman who fatally shot neighbor called victim's children the n-word and Black slave, arrest report says
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- More older Americans become homeless as inflation rises and housing costs spike
- Hurricane Season 2018: Experts Warn of Super Storms, Call For New Category 6
- Japanese employees can hire this company to quit for them
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Fossil Fuel Money Still a Dry Well for Trump Campaign
Ranking
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Science Couldn't Save Her, So She Became A Scientist
- Today’s Climate: August 13, 2010
- Behati Prinsloo Shares Adorable New Photo of Her and Adam Levine’s Baby in Family Album
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Special counsel Jack Smith says he'll seek speedy trial for Trump in documents case
- Elliot Page Shares Shirtless Selfie While Reflecting on Dysphoria Journey
- How a deadly fire in Xinjiang prompted protests unseen in China in three decades
Recommendation
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Cornell suspends frat parties after reports of drugged drinks and sexual assault
Why Bling Empire's Kelly Mi Li Didn't Leave Home for a Month After Giving Birth
Could this cheaper, more climate-friendly perennial rice transform farming?
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
24-Hour Sephora Deal: 50% Off a Bio Ionic Iron That Curls or Straightens Hair in Less Than 10 Minutes
Heat Wave Safety: 130 Groups Call for Protections for Farm, Construction Workers
Letters offer a rare look at the thoughts of The Dexter Killer: It's what it is and I'm what I am.