Arguably no athlete in history has delivered on massive expectations the way Shohei Ohtani did in 2024. In the process of his monster season, he solidified his own uniqueness, reset baseball’s salary scale, further globalized the sport, and helped affirm the on- and off-field dominance of the Dodgers.
Just before Christmas 2023, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with Los Angeles, a pact that not only surpassed most prior industry expectations by more than $100 million, but also shocked nearly everybody with its $680 million in deferrals until after the decade-long term.
Ohtani had already become MLB’s best player, starring both on the mound and at the plate as a rare two-way phenom while with the Angels for six seasons. The Dodgers deal was premised on his talent and fame hitting an entirely new level when paired with the immense resources of team owner Guggenheim Baseball Management.
One year in, those hopes have been realized—and then some. The Dodgers won their first full-season championship since 1988 in a five-game World Series win over the Yankees, drawing that event’s best domestic ratings in seven years. Ohtani, of course, was a central figure in that success, becoming MLB’s first player with 50 home runs and 50 steals in a season—while also attracting a Beatlemania level of fame.
“This game has been around for a long time, and to do something that’s never been done, he’s one of one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s exploits. “[There] couldn’t be a more talented player. He couldn’t be more humble. … It’s a win for Major League Baseball.”
Los Angeles again led the league in attendance as fans flocked to see the Japanese superstar, and fans back in his native country also tuned in to watch games in unprecedented numbers. Not surprisingly, Ohtani also had MLB’s top-selling player jersey in 2024.
“I always thought Shohei made a lot of sense for us,” said Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten, moments after the Dodgers clinched that World Series win. “We hoped he felt the same way. There was that one awful Friday with the little plane in Toronto [sparking ultimately unfounded rumors of a free-agent signing with the Blue Jays]. We didn’t know any more than any of you did. But I think we were the best team for him, and I think he did also. … I think he made a really good choice.”
Since the title, the Ohtani-led success has only amplified the Dodgers’ hunger for more, as the team has continued to use the salary deferral strategy to add more free-agent talents such as pitcher Blake Snell. Ohtani also has helped set a new floor for large-scale deals in free agency, as just a year after his own history-making pact, the Mets signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million deal.
Even before any of Ohtani’s 2024 exploits, however, the season nearly derailed before it started. His longtime interpreter and close friend, Ippei Mizuhara, stole more than $16 million from him to help fund a debilitating—and profoundly unsuccessful—gambling addiction, to the point of participating in illegal gambling rings.
After Ohtani emphatically denied any knowledge of the conduct, U.S. attorneys conducted their own investigation and concluded the superstar was “considered a victim in the case.”
Mizuhara has since pleaded guilty in the case, is scheduled to be sentenced in January—and will likely soon be relegated to footnote status as he faces potentially decades in federal prison. But for a brief moment, the legend of Ohtani looked surprisingly vulnerable, particularly as Mizuhara claimed at one point that Ohtani was knowingly paying off the interpreter’s gambling debts, before ultimately acknowledging his guilt.
With the scandal in the rearview mirror, looking ahead, the Dodgers are coming strong out of the gate in 2025. The team will help open MLB’s 2025 season in Japan with a two-game set in Tokyo against the Cubs, an event that will represent a massive homecoming for Ohtani. “Tokyo is really our focus [internationally] right now for very, very good business reasons,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in November.
Ohtani is also planning to return to pitching next year after exclusively playing as a designated hitter in 2024 while rehabilitating from elbow surgery. That will add to any already-stacked Dodgers pitching staff and further burnish a two-way stardom not seen at this level in baseball since early parts of Babe Ruth’s career—and certainly not for this type of duration.
Earlier this year, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Ohtani: “I think there’s a legitimate argument that he’s the greatest player ever to play the game.”
