$700 Million.

Before we begin, just a quick note on the baseball in all this: I love baseball and have gotten closer to through watching the sports and playing the video games. It is a sport I can follow with detail.

And while I can provide that kind of analysis, Why? To quote NFL legend Ricky Waters, “For who? For what?”

Here is where you can find all the potential baseball analysis about how Ohtani fits with the Dodgers.

Let’s talk about $700 million.
MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a sports-record $700 million over the next ten years. This surpasses the previous record held by his former Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout. The Angels could give Trout $250 million right now and still not match the deal for Ohtani. Another perspective: Ohtani won the 2023 American League MVP and has now changed teams. Thirty years ago—right before Ohtani was born—1992 National League MVP Barry Bonds signed with the San Francisco Giants for a then-record $43 million contract over six years.

Seven hundred million dollars.
Ohtani is an obvious cultural phenomenon, even if baseball may or may not be struggling to garner more casual popularity. The Dodgers are a iconic as any entity in sports, and baseball’s best player will now wear that recognizable LA blue cap.

One man received $700,000,000 to play a sport. I’m not saying that to imply the contract is undeserved. It’s the opposite: I’m genuinely amazed I was able to witness one player be offered and signed to that amount of money.

There are so many things in life that take a lot to fully grasp. How bumblebees are able to fly. Allen Iverson becoming a Hall of Fame basketball player despite being demonstratively unwilling to shoot left-handed layups. Why a lot of us think Freddie Mercury sings one last, “of the world,” at the end of Queen’s, “We Are The Champions.” But a single athlete was given more money than per year than eight current MLB payrolls is borderline unfathomable. But it’s happened. And it’s awesome.