Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani signs new ‘exclusive’ deal
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed star Shohei Ohtani this winter and he has thrived in the spotlight. As Ohtani chases a 50 home run, 50 stolen base season, he has signed an exclusive deal with Fanatics to keep his baseball cards with one company, per Dan Hajducky of ESPN.
“Ohtani has signed other deals with Fanatics — including an exclusive autograph, collectibles and memorabilia deal in 2021, but it didn’t include sports cards,” Hajducky reported. “The agreement includes autographs and game-used memorabilia cards and will feature cards centered around moments and achievements, involving U.S.- and Japan-based products, a bourgeoning region for Topps and collecting.”
Part of the $700 million valuation of Ohtani by the Dodgers is his incredible market in his native country. By adding Japanese stores to their market, they have ensured a massive amount of sales of Topps baseball cards in the country. The deal also covers the United States, where Ohtani is also a wildly popular player. Fanatics and Topps will benefit tremendously from this deal.
Ichiro Suzuki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Hideki Matsui are other Japanese players who have signed a similar contract with Fanatics/Topps in the past. They have a market in Japan to sell cards and Ohtani will provide a massive boom in that market.
As Ohtani continues to make piles of money on his stardom, he backs it up on the field. His first year with the Dodgers has been a raging success on the field. How can an MVP season help the Dodgers get over the hump and win the World Series?
Dodgers benefitting from great Shohei Ohtani season
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
While there was no doubt that the Dodgers would benefit from adding Ohtani, he has put together his best offensive season. As he rehabs from Tommy John surgery, he has broken his personal best in stolen bases and is on pace to do so in home runs. His greatness is defined by his two-way ability but a season like this is almost worth that ridiculous salary.
There has never been a player to hit 43 home runs and steal 43 bases in the same season. Ohtani enters Thursday’s action with 42 of each. He also got to 40 of each faster than any of the other five players to reach the plateau. It has been such a historic season that he is expected to win the NL MVP despite not playing the field.
Ohtani’s two MVPs are the only ones given to a primary designated hitter. He won those awards because he was pitching as well, which he is not doing this season. He needed to have a historic season to win an MVP award in his first season with the Dodgers. Ohtani has done that and is on pace to make history with a 50 home run and 50 stolen base season.
The individual success has finally resulted in team success for Ohtani. After not playing in a single playoff game with the Angels, the Dodgers are leading the National League West. Even with the Diamondbacks and Padres chasing them down, it has been a successful season for Ohtani and the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are expecting to make a deep run in the playoffs. If Ohtani remains healthy and leads the team to a pennant, his cards will become even more valuable for his new partner.
The post Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani signs new ‘exclusive’ deal appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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