Ohtani's goal from highschool was to one day join the Dodgers and win the World Series. (He graduated highschool in Mar 2013.) And the reason why he wanted to join the Dodgers was because he Dodgers had scouts in Japan, as well as the fact that Ohtani grew up watching various Japanese pitchers like Kazuhisa Ishii, Takashi Saitoh, etc, who were attracted to the Dodgers because of Hideo Nomo. Some people talk about the past few seasons. In reality, the competition to attract talent from Japan started decades ago. The Dodgers have been continuously building a brand and scouting in Japan. And children today will grow up watching players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki. Most other MLB teams are just focused on the following season. Mariners had iconic natural treasures like Ichiro Suzuki and Yankees had Hideki Matsui...it's not like they didn't have a chance. They just didn't know what they had and what it meant for the next generation watching them play. (Matsui was let go from the Yankees after winning the World Series. That's a quick way to destroy your reputation for the next generation.)
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure I read in an article that it wasn't just that the Dodgers had long had scouts in Japan, and ones that were looking at him. It was also that after he had a minor injury, the Dodgers scouts were one of the only ones to come back and watch him during that time.
@@justinjordan7711 Either way, the Yankees were not willing to accommodate him and chose to move on. That's still not the greatest look for the ball club.
@@4lyeskas I don't know whether you're referring to Ohtani or Sasaki. The Dodgers have had Japanese scouts permanently based in Japan and been in touch with Ohtani and Sasaki since highschool. So yes, the relationship goes back many many years. Ohtani was initially planning to go to MLB right after highschool, which is why most NPB teams didn't draft him.
Lets not forget that a new whole generation of Japanese baseball kids/ players are gonna be Dodgers fans now. The next Roki Sasaki is somewhere in Japan right now wearing and Ohtani Dodgers jersey.
The culture the Dodgers built, whether that's the winning culture, the locker room culture, or their coaching culture, has been attractive to any ball player. It just seems to be the only team doing everything right. That's precisely the reason some of their players would be willing to take a pay-cut just to stay in LA.
This is why I really can't bring myself to hate them. They're quite literally doing everything right, they're not just spending more than anyone else and riding a lot of luck or "devil magic." They have developed a perfect baseball organization. I don't want my team to beat the Dodgers (well, I do, but not the point), I want my team to *be* the Dodgers. If every team put effort into their organization the way the Dodgers did into theirs, fans would benefit everywhere.
Exactly this. Players WANT to play for the Dodgers because of how good their organization is and the fact that they are basically guaranteed to be in the play offs every year. They do everything right.
Team don't have to over think it. It's called a CLUB house for a reason. Country Club for golf have similar thing. A new guest/player can feel comfortable. Seems too many teams turned their club houses into Amazon Warehouse stressful job.
Yes, the Dodgers have played their hands well, but the game is stacked in their favour and $ are the biggest reason they are ahead. Ohtani, Mookie, Freeman all huge bucks. But, they have all produced.
Their peerless spending is also directed to the front office, coaching and analytics .. the financial imbalance is just as notable in those areas … Friedman is on a $35 million contract.
Dodgers have been carefully building this for over a decade. There are no end of stories about players who arrived, turned their performance around, and credit that to how the Dodgers operate. The way they took care of their families, had individual plan for them ready to go in hand when they arrived, etc. But none of that is anything to do with the success now according to fans and media. They just out checkbook the league, never mind they haven’t even led the league in payroll one single season during this run of success under Friedman and Walter. That is the main reason this may become an epic dynasty. Nobody credits the actual reason, so they won’t adopt the methods.
Complete trash post. Japanese players are pussies to play anywhere else besides the west coast. They need their mommas. They played mlb to make a super team just like the NBA. Japanese players need to enter the draft so that all teams get a shot.
Don't forget that Andrew Toles is still on the Dodgers payroll, after all these years, so that he can continue to access health care for his mental health needs. The ownership group is a class-act. Talk about taking care of you/ your family!
@ That story is really special. At times I wish it was more well known, but remember it’s about Toles and his mental illness. More focus and attention isn’t likely what’s best for him. You are right. It says a lot about the organization’s approach to their players.
they havent led the league in payroll because Ohtani's contract is all backended wtf if that was structured like any other deal they are outspending everyone by a large margin. what a walnut take
The thing is the Dodgers spend alot of time promoting themselves and scouting young players in Asia. They spent the ninties and early 2000's signing Japanese/Korean players. It's to the point that Japan, and to a lesser degree Korea, think of the Dodgers as the home team. Alot of these players spent their youth watching Dodger games.
@@christiantorres9447 One year on Opening Day at the stadium I was interviewed by Korean TV because I was wearing a Park t-shirt. I am not Korean, just a white dude from the Valley.
They need a salary cap. Teams in small markets can't spend like the larger ones. That's why the cap needs to be at 200M. That way alot of the mid markets like STL SEA MIN DET HOU etc can also compete with the bigger markets. Giving the league more parity.
I'm an Angels fan. I'm pissed about all these the Dodgers signings. The Dodgers signed several players I wanted the Angels to sign in the last several offseasons. HOWEVER, I'm not angry at the DODGERS. I'm angry at the ANGELS. I'm angry at Moreno and Minion. The Dodgers are all in. They are putting their money where their mouth is. Their top priority is to win. And it shows. They are doing everything in their power to put their franchise in the best possible position to win. They are $375 million over the Luxury Tax. They will pay $100+ Million in penalty fees to the other franchises. But they know they will make that money up in advertisements, merchandising, corporate sponsorships (See: The entire country of Japan), and in tickets sales (the more post season home games you play, the more revenue you generate). That's what EVERY franchise should strive for. The whole point of sports is to win championships. If you're not going to do everything you can to win, if you're just going to settle for trying to fill the stadium and sell merchandise then what in the hell are you even doing owing a sports franchise in the first place??
You also have to make sure you sign the RIGHT type of players. Look at the Angels spending big dollars on, the only one who was okay enough for the services was Pujols, Vladdy, and Hunter. Players like Josh Hamilton, Gary Matthews Jr., Vernon Wells, CJ Wilson, Anthony Rendon, Zack Cohart, Justin Upton.
@aznpikachu215 True. But we can all agree Ohtani is worth signing. And we all know he offered the Angels a chance to match the deal he signed with the Dodgers and Moreno turned it down. It's also not just the signings either. It's the trades. Angels trade for guys like Soler and Moniak, while the Dodgers trade for guys like Betts, Scherzer and Trea Turner.
@aznpikachu215 Totally. The Angels have had some bad luck in regards to high profile FA signings. (Rendon, Mo Vaughn) That said, a large part of the blame is on Angels management. Several of these free agents had warning signs and Angels management decided to ignore them. (Hamilton) They have a history of signing guys who were coming off a solid season the previous year, but who have had a history of mediocre throughout their careers. Then these players didn't perform as well as the previous season. (CJ Wilson, Gary Mathews Jr., Upton,) And, just like this offseason, they tend to sign guys on their way down in the hopes they'll regain some of their prior productivity. (See Hendricks). So as you can seem, a lot of the pains the Angels are suffering through right now are self-inflicted.
I mean you can pretty much watch the games no problem if your team is on the west coast. That logic that Japanese players are signing to the Dodgers because it's close is straight up BS. The reason the east coast is bad for asian fans is because the game sometimes starts at 2 am to 4 am over there, while west coast games are around 9 am to 11 am. You're playing 162 games, you don't have social life besides the off season. It does not matter which team they sign to, the Dodgers are just too good staff wise.
@@Eric_E_123 The Anaheim and Sacramento teams are bad. The Padres and Giants are better, but not as good as the Dodgers. This is baseball, not rocket science...
The financial gap between the Dodgers and other teams is not merely about player payroll. There are probably also significant payroll gaps for executives and personnel (coaches, trainers, chefs, etc) and all the other costly quality of life amenities they provide to players. A salary cap would not change the fact that some teams will splurge on non-payroll expenses that have very real impacts on player performance. I have a hunch this is why some other high payroll or large market teams do very poorly, while some low payroll teams do quite well. The Dodgers' cheat code is that they use their wealth to spend on seemingly all of it.
I think this is exactly right. Teams like TBR don't have the payroll, but they have the analytics to find some diamonds in the rough. But LAD can have high-end analytics AND offer $30mil+ salaries to the ones they find. All other sabermetric teams only keep them on club contracts and trade them off as rentals but LAD can grow the talent and then keep it for their whole career
@@traviebohave That's exactly why the Dodgers signed Andrew Friedman from the Rays. It is scary when a guy who is so skilled in analytics and was only restricted by payroll goes to a team like the dodgers. I would predict the Met's to have a similar trajectory after hiring David Sterns.
I can't remember who made the video but I think MLB needs a minum salary. Sure it might seem weird but it's not like these teams are run by people in poverty, and it would stop teams like they athletics going from champion ship contenders to struggling to get .500 seasons.
Even then, I think players would still go for Dodgers with their player care focused company culture. You just can't beat a benevolent employee like that. Cap the salary to half of what Dodgers now spend, it pales in the amount of shit they throw to make sure players are taken care of just like how they casually throw extension to Toles contract despite his inactivity due to mental health issue. You cannot put off player with even 70% salary cap of their prior contracts when the add ons are this kind of benefit. Treat your employee rights and they will spread the good words to attract top talents.
@conanobrennan53 I think the poster is saying that a team salary floor like in the NHL. In the NHL, teams not only have a cap teams can't go over, but also a floor where every team must spent, which btw is way above all players on roster X min salary.
It's all about the culture. Dodgers are getting free agents because they WANT to be there. Sasaki is the perfect example of this. ALL teams had a chance to sign him since all of them could only sign him for a minor league contract, Dodgers included, so it's not a money thing. Sasaki personally WANTED to be a Dodger. Don't be mad at the Dodgers doing their job, be mad at your team's owner not trying as hard. Dodgers laid the blueprint, now it's up to other teams to decide whether to follow it to ensure their own team's success, or continue penny-pinching despite being owned by literal billionaires
"Not trying as hard" The Dodgers have now cornered the Japanese free agent market for years to come thanks to Ohtani and now Sasaki. It goes deeper than just "not trying hard enough." There is no reason for any NPB player to go to any team but the Dodgers now, and it has nothing to do with money. You can stick your head in the sand or you can identify that LA absolutely has a monopoly. The NPB will become their 2nd farm system.
There are literal owners trying to recruit these players, i don’t understand what makes the dodgers any different?? Giants, Mets, Padres, Yankees all tried to make a better offer for Sasaki. Yet you say owners don’t try? These players are not going to be convinced.. There’s no culture in LA, its just for the cameras and the bright lights to be noticed.
The Mets did and still spend a bunch but they paid for it. I feel like this deferred salary that the Dodgers are now getting quite good at needs to be adjusted as they seem to be “cheating” within the bounds of the rules.
When you combine a great culture and high IQ players with an organization with deep pockets, players will want up be a part of that. This is the best organization from top to bottom- plain and simple.
He really didn't do his research on that part. Chris Taylor had a career turnaround once he got traded to LA (from like 2017-2021) Justin Turner as well before he declined hard in 2022 Will Smith is part of LA's farm system callups who broke out and still has potential. Andy Pages as well.
What this video doesn’t address is the fact that the Dodgers are able to fund this development program, in no small part, because of the insane revenue they get from Japan. They basically have a monopoly on the Japanese market; Ohtani’s contract is paying for itself. The contract, I’ll remind you, that was 2x more money than any contract in history before it. That will essentially be free for them, allowing them to spend more money on development and analytics. No small market team like Baltimore or KC will ever have access to that money, those analytics, and those players. So now we’ve wound up with a defending WS champion with a rotation of six #1 guys the year after they spent $1 billion in an offseason. THAT is what will break the MLB.
I really don't think its the development side that's attracting the players. It's the roster. Someone on insta made a comment that Roki is basically Durant going to the Warriors. Because if it was about development, the Mariners and Orioles have also been really good at developing talent but you don't see players falling over themselves to sign there.
you missed the biggest reason for sasaki to sign with LAD, when ohtani signed, not only he signed, almost 19 other big japanese corporations signed with the dodgers, for a japanese person in a 120million population country and baseball being by far their N°1 sport, any japanese will sign with the dodgers from now on if the dodgers want to sign him, its just a lucrative deal that you can't turn down, LAD was always a tier1 org, maybe you're an american you don't have this perspective but even in non baseball countries every single body knows LAD and NYY for fashion reasons.
Idk, seems finny that when NY did this for years and years and years it was 'whatever.' Now that someone else is doing it, all those folks in NY are finding things egrigiously unfair. Something about this lightly reminds me of the 90s Detroit Red Wings. They loaded up on superstar Russians that nobody else was signing. Part of it was they were the 'first' to really invest in scouting for Russian players as hard as they did, which I'd say is comparable to Dodgers investing in player development in ways other teams dont. Also similar. It seemed their depth was just incredible by finding all the right parts in between that just boosted the value of the players who played there. Eventually tides will shift, but for now, Dodgers have a chokehold on the Japanese market, lol. (And as this video suggests, the 'everyone else' market too.) Its for other teams to catch up, not for MLB to change rules jist because LA is doing it best.
The reason why nobody bitches about NY Yanks doing this for years & years is because they kinda suck right now. They're a complete shell of their former almost 4 peating selves after being comebacked on from a 3-0 lead by their most hated rival, the Red Sox. Back then people were bitching non stop about the Yankees spending & the Yankees winning all the time.
@TheRealBruceLouis yeah, there were always complaints from non yanks fans. Which is why I wanted to make sure to single out the NYY fans that are complaining about how ubfair things are today.
You do realize you need a league to play in and teams to play against right. Run your mouth and talk till 27 when there is a full season lockout because of this crap. It was jarring to me that on mlbtraderumors there was a poll that asked two questions should there be a cap and would you be ok with missing an entire season to get it? 67% votes yes to a cap and more then half were fine with missing a whole season to get it. If you think this is good for baseball you’re delusional.
Saying they turned around Tommy Edman's career is silly, guy played gold glove defense at short and second, got moved to center out of need by the cardinals and wowed everyone, then he got hurt and traded.
Crazy when you realize under the new CBA in 2022, every team takes home a share of 48 percent of total local revenues. Everyone shares that and in 2022 that was $200 million for each team. Can only imagine that number has gone up since. Where did that $200 million go for teams like the Athletics, Marlins, White Sox, etc. ?? Ask yourselves that. These teams can spend like the dodgers. They have to do it methodically but they can. Don’t let anyone make you believe the Dodgers TV deal gets them all these players. Your team can do this. Dodgers operating at smaller revenue numbers with all these contracts now actually.
Idk why the league dragged this out. Roki was gonna be a Dodger no matter what and his mind has BEEN MADE up. 😂 the Dodgers are making a mini Japan in LA! They get all the MVPs, all the best pitchers and all the best hitters. No one else in the league stood a chance to sign him. The Dodgers has unlimited spending power because all their players take deferred money and discounts. They've definitely broke the league. If MLB doesn't revise the whole deferred money scandal and add harsher penalties for teams that over spend, fans will draw away from the sport. Unless your of course a Dodgers fan. Then you'll go on to love it and say "your a hater, your team just don't spend and all the success they gain is earned". Lol simply put, it's none of that. Other teams will spend but the Dodgers swing all the best talent to them. There the only team in the entire MLB that can hand out hundreds of millions in contracts on 90% deferred money. No player would do that for no other team. 😂😂😂 its a straight joke! I was looking forward to the start of the season but not so much anymore. The Dodgers (if healthy) will blow every team out and no one will hit them. Their about to be the 1st team in baseball to have an undefeated season 😂 Their quite literally on the path to sweep every team in the playoffs. Its about to be very boring for everyone that isn't a Dodgers fan. (Although there's no shortage of bandwagon fans). Wow, I have ZERO respect for Roki and all the other Dodgers players! Cheap baseless rings is all they will continue to get. They mean nothing when you don't actually earn it and just buy every good player and create a super duper team 😂 wack!
Let's be completely honest, Roki Sasaki on most other teams would be the media darling and be forced to address everything, and be the person most under the microscope. On the Dodgers, he has Ohtani, who is already entrenched as the modern Babe Ruth, and they have Yamamoto, also Japanese. That does figure into Sasaki signing with the Dodgers. Also, there is a large Asian presence in CA, specifically a large Japanese presence, more than most other states, if not all other states. Then there is the great weather (not counting fires) and then there is the proximity of the West Coast to Japan and the rest of Asia. All of those things matter. NY may have a large Chinese population but it does not have a large Japanese population and it is several thousand miles further away from Japan than CA. Sasaki can let Ohtani take the lead with the media while he learns, and he hasYamamoto there for support. That will allow Sasaki to concentrate on the million other things he has to adapt to. It's not always money, some factors are much more important.
A salary cap would further hurt most small market teams and honestly, make the MLB as bad if not worse than the NBA. Adam Silver has completely made that league uncompetitive and a joke. Spending doesn’t equal success, case in point 2023 where the top 5 spenders not only missed the playoffs, three of them became bottom feeders.
i think not having a hard cap makes baseball unique and interesting because teams have to find different ways to be successful if they are not the richest.
MLB is careening towards a work stoppage when the current collective bargaining agreement ends in 2026. There is sooo much wrong with the game right now, from the way international players get to choose their teams instead of being drafted into the league, to the way lesser free agents without qualifying offers can actually get better offers than better free agents with qualifying offers, to the general feeling of hopelessness most small market teams have entering into every season. MLB is a mess.
1:07 it is sorta because they got shohei, the giants offered him the same exact contract and he picked the dodgers, if shohei picked the giants, they would be the team breaking mlb
@@Imsosaditsgottenthis Blake Snell didn't sign until after spring training with the Giants, so that definitely contributed to his negative perception of them most likely since they were missing something that could turn a good pitching staff into a great pitching staff
Oh, isn't it just adorable watching these rival fangirls in uproar, as if Roki were their homegrown hero, nurtured and raised in their backyard, singlehandedly orchestrating their epic championship triumph. It's almost as if he gave a heartfelt speech, swearing his undying loyalty to their cause and sealing it with a dozen promises of eternal allegiance, only to slip away under the cover of night to their sworn enemies. It’s as if Roki were smirking at a press conference, casually taking a swipe at his former team, all while draping their most hated rival's jersey over his shoulder as if it were the ultimate fashion statement. I mean, how dare an international free agent have the audacity to consider his own personal priorities, the opportunity to actually win something, or, heaven forbid, family considerations when he can just turn to a sea of anonymous contributors on the internet to navigate his career choice, right?
It is about the money! They have a payroll over $350m and twice that deferred. This is why the NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps. You talk about it's not about the money. Yes there are a few teams with that kind of money, but the majority of teams can't compete. This is why people lose interest in this great sport. It's not a level playing field.
Comments I've seen: Yea tell your non Dodger owners to pony up and spend money. I say, On who exactly? Overspend on washed up 36 year old players, pay 700+ million on Soto and have no other hitting threat to protect him. Spend money to just spend it? MLB needs to start cutting teams and take what talent there is and spread it around the remaining teams. No more deferrals on contracts. NFL style contracts wouldn't hurt either. Player gets signed for $200 million and then suddenly can't hit his weight? Cut him like the NFL. Here is the lower guaranteed money Mr Player and don't let the door hit you on the way out. Baseball is just not fun anymore. Not fun to watch live (costs too much money) Not to listen on the radio (Even large markets sometimes don't have a good radio network.) Not fun to watch on TV ( so many commercials and so much time to play one game)
How about the fact that WEST COAST MLB teams have the big advantage of signing the best Japanese stars. Ichiro went to Seattle, Ohtani went to the Angels then to the Dodgers. This is a West Coast thing. MLB East and Central teams never get a chance.
Fans probably weren't calling for 'mlb to do something' when NYY won 4 WS from 1996-2000, and almost 2001. Now that's a dynasty. And we saw the Pads sign several superstars a few years ago, and get Soto, only to not even make the playoffs that season.
The Dodgers invest in the front office, coaching, player development, their farm system, scouting, their fans, etc. They are the crème de la crème. They treat their players and fans with respect. They honor the legacy of past Dodgers. They are the best run organization in sports. It is a wonderful time to be a Dodger fan. Gggooooooo Dodgers!
forget salary cap, they need revenue sharing among owners. Equal money from tv deal (local and national), merchandising and other source of income. That's how NFL, NBA and NHL do it. MLB does not do that. It's not just free agency, but international scouting, minor league development that are not equal. Your video is correct in that Dodgers... and a few teams like yankees, braves, and astros can spend money on facilities, training, and analytic scouting that can help coaches, players and team improve. Until teams can be on equal ground, then you can insert the salary cap. Salary cap only restrict high salaries for multiple players, but as your video shows Sasaki and many other free agents took less money to be on the Dodgers. The Giants offered more money to some of the free agents and couldn't sign any of them in the past few years (Aaron Judge, Otani, etc). There is a reason for that.
My #1 sport is hockey, and the NHL salary cap has made things very interesting. I've been following the argument for a while as far as MLB goes, and the best argument I've read yet is for at the implementation of a salary floor. Go Dodgers!
In some ways I'd love this to be true: the Dodgers being rewarded for running a great organization, but at this point is still only "potentially breaking". The Dodgers will need to win 2 or 3 championships in the next 5-6 years (not just WS appearances) to break MLB. Plus there's a handful of teams which would easily copy the Dodgers' lead and be perennial contenders.
It’s hard to argue with success. I’m a hardcore Dodger fan and have been my whole life. Born into, had no hope of anything else. Am I a fan of how they’re going about spending banks of money? Nope. But just like in playing any sport, they are successfully playing by the rules. It’s on MLB to change how that this can be done. Back to the opening comment. It’s hard to argue with success. MLB knows this is good for the league, so they allow it because they benefit from it.
I think we don’t give enough credit to the fan base. The dodgers have the best fan attendance per game by far. I’m not saying that’s it’s the main reason but I’m sure it’s part of the equation. I’m sure there’s a particular feeling about playing in front of a sell out crowd on a nightly basis.
Just because the roster is stacked, doesn't mean they'll win the next ring suddenly. It's not just about the numbers. But also synergy between players. The boys need to enjoy playing together. To keep that morale and momentum going. Just like any workplace. We'll see how it pans out. Lots of egos and stars in that clubhouse.
You gotta give credit for the Dodgers hiring the right office and analytical staff. Yes you can throw money around and win like the 90s Yankees did, but the fact is the Dodgers are smart and don’t just throw money at every All-Star available. -A Dbacks fan
One of the best dodger takes ever call mom all of these haters saying exactly what you said about buying. It's the player development and when they go to the Dodgers. They know they're gonna get better. So they can get a better contract later comma you hit it right on the head great video.
If you look back, the Dodgers have always had a special place in Asia. It goes back decades. All the whining about deferred contracts? They have been happening for years now. I.E. Bobby Bonilla. No one has complained until now. Tough Toodles if other teams can't think outside the box.
It definitely isn't just because they are in LA because otherwise why are the Angels such a disaster? It's simply doing everything right and not forgetting the small stuff like scouting and their farm teams.
Meanwhile the Cubs, owned by a billionaire family, plead poverty. The Mets has stated it is their goal to emulate the Dodgers, and I think to some degree the Yankees have created a system that maximizes talent coming into the majors. But the Mets have a way's to go with creating that system, and the Yankees still prioritize avoiding higher luxury taxes. But having three superpowers instead of one will not help fans of all the other teams. And they continue to be content to plead poverty or not spend the CBT money.
if the MLBPA ever agrees to a salary cap, it would have to come along with a salary minimum, and i think if the dodgers keep pushing this competition envelope then we might actually see progress on it. then each team would be using the same window of available salary like the NFL and NBA does, and the player's could make their choice based more on fit, development, opportunity and location rather than just which owner is richer. i think that would drastically level the playing field for MLB, and hopefully by next CBA
Exactly what I've been saying. They have an aura about them like how the Yankees used to be. Except, they're bigger somehow. I dont hate them, it's cool, but this is creating a problem. Say you have 10 superstars in a league and the Dodgers have 5. That leaves a lot of teams with nothing. That's bad for the sport as a whole. Let me give an example. As a kid I grew up watching Ichiro. He was an inspiration and a gentleman and the reason I love baseball, well him and King Felix. I wouldn't have that take if I were in Colorado. If teams dont have long term stars, it reduces the fans in that area. That means in the end, no league expansion, only teams moving cities. That doesn't grow the game. That turns a lot of fans off and you won't get them back easily. In the grand scheme of the sport, this is bad for baseball. Maybe there needs to be a minimum amount of homegrown talent to reduce the ability to buy an entire team of players and take away from other places. I don't see a salary cap even being plausible. This salary floor we have is good and mix it with a homegrown player minimum I think would help. Maybe 10 players of the 26 man roster. Just a random number here.
Front office period. From analytics team to finance department to developmental of players. The constant re investment on their assets like international scout team to the constant upgrades on beautiful Dodgers stadium. The other thing is the diehard Dodgers fans. They are one the most loyal fan bases in sports. Travel far to support their teams fan base is super diverse from Hispanic, Caucasian , now the Asian fan base.. why bc the Dodgers were the first to give different players of different backgrounds the opportunity to excel from Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela. Hideo Nomo, Chan Ho Park. This organization relates to all around the globe. Thats why.
Geography helps too. LA is a desirable area, and living on the west Coast means a shorter distance and less of a time difference from their home countries.
It’s not just all the money they spend on free agents, they spend shit loads on player development and facilities. Plus LA has insane sponsorship opportunity. All that’s to say, it’s always all about the money
Malarkey. The Dodgers success with Ohtani especially had to do with EVERYTHING related to back pay. Deferring everything is legal in baseball, but it should be stopped. Pay up front or not at all.
A salary cap wouldn't have helped with Sasaki, who was already capped. Rather, a player like Sasaki (or Ohtani) shouldn't come out of Japan and get to pick which team they play with anymore than a top High School or College player does. There should be an international draft.
Should be a salary cap for $140 million a year per franchise. Spend it wisely. The rest of the money should go to youth sports leagues, cheaper equipment programs & better diamonds worldwide and not just in North America that we don't even use anymore. There are 3 nice baseball fields that I live right beside with home run fences, scoreboards & even lights and bleachers. Nobody is ever at them, ever. Yet I see highschool teams in Canada practicing on a tee ball field. Wonder why Canadian athletes are dying and becoming homeless rather than living their dreams and earning the wage they deserve, like $500k a year, not $7MILLION!!!!
The Dodgers have the money and are willing to pay the top players in the league. But also have the best weather in the country easily. The Japanese grow up idolizing the Dodgers team. Then end up playing for them. Now we have Yamamoto, Ohtani, Sasaki Ghidorah the three headed monster. Time to run over the league!
Don't hate the player hate the game. Ohtani was already in a LA making it an easier decision for him. Their newest Japanese star...well probably nice to sign with a team that has another Japanese player on the team to ease the transition. Freeman, Braves didn't want him. Hernandez, they saw something in him that Seattle and Toronto didn't. Even with Betts Boston wanted to move on possibly thinking his age would result in a bad contract. Yes LA had to spend and it could have blown up like San Diego and the Mets did but they pushed in their chips and said all or bust.
Because it’s LA bro that’s why everyone wants to come to LA to live the dream and famous lifestyle and also play for the dodgers that are by Hollywood and just in general and LA has a very huge Asian culture and population and also LA is very diverse
I don't have an issue with the spending, but it appears that Japan is now off the market for all the other teams unless the Dodgers don't want a posted player.
“Asian-American descent.” Uhh, no, they’re Asians. They were born, raised and lived their lives in their own countries before coming to work in the US. I don’t think they changed citizenship when they came to the US, either. 😂
Salary cap will not spread players out. They will still flock to teams with a culure of winning and look for a destination. Outside of ohtani, what have the dodgers done that so many other teams have done salary wise? Mets just spent more on Soto. There are only a few top earners on the dodgers. The aav drops fairly sharply.
Like I’ve always said: the Dodgers are the Rays w money. Ppl say money buys all, but if that were the case, the Angels would at least be competitive 💀 But the dodgers both have money to spend (wisely) but also can find diamonds in the rough and bring the best outta their players
@@nicholascorrenti857 what helps is unironically money in that department admittedly. Reason for that is because Dodgers POBO Andrew Friedman was quite literally probed away from the Rays. Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes was ironically also from Tampa as a player that Friedman had traded for
"outside of the players they've signed they've developed 4 relievers and fixed 3 guys 8 years ago" and then the only actual example of them working with a hitter in the last 6 years is rojas. thats not real development. Players want to sign with the dodgers because why tf wouldn't you? if your a hitter you get the lineup protection of betts, ohtani, freeman, muncy, hernandez and get a free ride to the ws. If your a pitcher you get the run support of betts, ohtani, freeman, muncy, hernandez and know that when your on the bench you are supported in the rotation by 4 other cy young contenders that are(mostly) bought just like yourself. The reason why the dodgers can do this is because they were able to defer a billion dollars in free agency. if just the ohtani contract wasn't deferred (which is a bullshit contract that boxed every team but the yankees and mets out by artificially raising the floor and not getting luxury taxed at the same rate as if he got 50/yr) then the dodgers would be paying with the luxury tax, 540 million dollars this year for this team. That exploit of the rules has allowed them to destroy competitive balance for the next 10 years while they still have the ohtani contract. Unless a cap and floor are put it, its gonna get pretty unwatchable
1:04 it's wouldn't be Asian-American descent, it would just be Asian descent because they're coming directly from Asia.
I agree but you have 69 likes so I’m not fucking that up
Yeah I came here for that. I am curious of the OP reads the comments. We'll find out.
Maybe he's talking about Tommy Edman and Dave Roberts! 😀
I’m also pretty sure it’s not called the “KPB.”
Ohtani's goal from highschool was to one day join the Dodgers and win the World Series. (He graduated highschool in Mar 2013.) And the reason why he wanted to join the Dodgers was because he Dodgers had scouts in Japan, as well as the fact that Ohtani grew up watching various Japanese pitchers like Kazuhisa Ishii, Takashi Saitoh, etc, who were attracted to the Dodgers because of Hideo Nomo. Some people talk about the past few seasons. In reality, the competition to attract talent from Japan started decades ago.
The Dodgers have been continuously building a brand and scouting in Japan. And children today will grow up watching players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki. Most other MLB teams are just focused on the following season. Mariners had iconic natural treasures like Ichiro Suzuki and Yankees had Hideki Matsui...it's not like they didn't have a chance. They just didn't know what they had and what it meant for the next generation watching them play. (Matsui was let go from the Yankees after winning the World Series. That's a quick way to destroy your reputation for the next generation.)
松井秀喜は解雇されていない
ヤンキースの契約延長の条件がDH専任だったから
しかし彼はポジションプレイヤーに、こだわりがあったので移籍する事を決断した
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure I read in an article that it wasn't just that the Dodgers had long had scouts in Japan, and ones that were looking at him. It was also that after he had a minor injury, the Dodgers scouts were one of the only ones to come back and watch him during that time.
Must go back to Mr. Baseball
@@justinjordan7711 Either way, the Yankees were not willing to accommodate him and chose to move on. That's still not the greatest look for the ball club.
@@4lyeskas I don't know whether you're referring to Ohtani or Sasaki. The Dodgers have had Japanese scouts permanently based in Japan and been in touch with Ohtani and Sasaki since highschool. So yes, the relationship goes back many many years. Ohtani was initially planning to go to MLB right after highschool, which is why most NPB teams didn't draft him.
Lets not forget that a new whole generation of Japanese baseball kids/ players are gonna be Dodgers fans now. The next Roki Sasaki is somewhere in Japan right now wearing and Ohtani Dodgers jersey.
That's fuckin crazy
Who cares ohtani is an anomaly most Japanese players come to the mlb and become mid
@@theoperry3236 Keep that mentality, that’s why your team will never land any good japanese players.
@@theoperry3236 That's what your mom called you when she had you
The culture the Dodgers built, whether that's the winning culture, the locker room culture, or their coaching culture, has been attractive to any ball player. It just seems to be the only team doing everything right. That's precisely the reason some of their players would be willing to take a pay-cut just to stay in LA.
This is why I really can't bring myself to hate them. They're quite literally doing everything right, they're not just spending more than anyone else and riding a lot of luck or "devil magic." They have developed a perfect baseball organization. I don't want my team to beat the Dodgers (well, I do, but not the point), I want my team to *be* the Dodgers. If every team put effort into their organization the way the Dodgers did into theirs, fans would benefit everywhere.
Exactly this. Players WANT to play for the Dodgers because of how good their organization is and the fact that they are basically guaranteed to be in the play offs every year. They do everything right.
Team don't have to over think it. It's called a CLUB house for a reason. Country Club for golf have similar thing. A new guest/player can feel comfortable. Seems too many teams turned their club houses into Amazon Warehouse stressful job.
Yes, the Dodgers have played their hands well, but the game is stacked in their favour and $ are the biggest reason they are ahead. Ohtani, Mookie, Freeman all huge bucks. But, they have all produced.
Their peerless spending is also directed to the front office, coaching and analytics .. the financial imbalance is just as notable in those areas … Friedman is on a $35 million contract.
Dodgers have been carefully building this for over a decade. There are no end of stories about players who arrived, turned their performance around, and credit that to how the Dodgers operate. The way they took care of their families, had individual plan for them ready to go in hand when they arrived, etc.
But none of that is anything to do with the success now according to fans and media. They just out checkbook the league, never mind they haven’t even led the league in payroll one single season during this run of success under Friedman and Walter.
That is the main reason this may become an epic dynasty. Nobody credits the actual reason, so they won’t adopt the methods.
Complete trash post. Japanese players are pussies to play anywhere else besides the west coast. They need their mommas. They played mlb to make a super team just like the NBA. Japanese players need to enter the draft so that all teams get a shot.
Don't forget that Andrew Toles is still on the Dodgers payroll, after all these years, so that he can continue to access health care for his mental health needs. The ownership group is a class-act. Talk about taking care of you/ your family!
@ That story is really special. At times I wish it was more well known, but remember it’s about Toles and his mental illness. More focus and attention isn’t likely what’s best for him. You are right. It says a lot about the organization’s approach to their players.
they havent led the league in payroll because Ohtani's contract is all backended wtf if that was structured like any other deal they are outspending everyone by a large margin. what a walnut take
The thing is the Dodgers spend alot of time promoting themselves and scouting young players in Asia.
They spent the ninties and early 2000's signing Japanese/Korean players.
It's to the point that Japan, and to a lesser degree Korea, think of the Dodgers as the home team.
Alot of these players spent their youth watching Dodger games.
Yep, we've been putting in the work for decades.
That’s true. I loved seeing guys like Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park pitch. Their delivery was different from the other pitchers in the league.
@@christiantorres9447 One year on Opening Day at the stadium I was interviewed by Korean TV because I was wearing a Park t-shirt. I am not Korean, just a white dude from the Valley.
And taiwan players
They also just sign a taiwan high schooler last season
@@ZackfromNoHo that’s hilarious.
Jackie Robinson
Fernando Venezuela
Hideo Nomo
Chan Ho Park
differen races and nationality, one thing in common.
FREE JULIO URIAS 😂
Which is?
@@PaloVerde1414 Uhhh...why? He's paying for his actions.
They gave Julio every chance.
@@PaloVerde1414 nah fuck him he did that shit TWICE he deserves what he gets
MLB needs a Salary floor. Example number 1: A's.
They been spending
They need a salary cap. Teams in small markets can't spend like the larger ones. That's why the cap needs to be at 200M. That way alot of the mid markets like STL SEA MIN DET HOU etc can also compete with the bigger markets. Giving the league more parity.
We should just cut teams out of the league...the Marlins, As, and so on. Stupid bottom feeders.
LOL but totally ignore a cap
What a dopey take
@ MLB players association is too strong - they'd never allow it.
I'm an Angels fan. I'm pissed about all these the Dodgers signings. The Dodgers signed several players I wanted the Angels to sign in the last several offseasons. HOWEVER, I'm not angry at the DODGERS. I'm angry at the ANGELS. I'm angry at Moreno and Minion.
The Dodgers are all in. They are putting their money where their mouth is. Their top priority is to win. And it shows. They are doing everything in their power to put their franchise in the best possible position to win. They are $375 million over the Luxury Tax. They will pay $100+ Million in penalty fees to the other franchises. But they know they will make that money up in advertisements, merchandising, corporate sponsorships (See: The entire country of Japan), and in tickets sales (the more post season home games you play, the more revenue you generate).
That's what EVERY franchise should strive for.
The whole point of sports is to win championships. If you're not going to do everything you can to win, if you're just going to settle for trying to fill the stadium and sell merchandise then what in the hell are you even doing owing a sports franchise in the first place??
You also have to make sure you sign the RIGHT type of players. Look at the Angels spending big dollars on, the only one who was okay enough for the services was Pujols, Vladdy, and Hunter.
Players like Josh Hamilton, Gary Matthews Jr., Vernon Wells, CJ Wilson, Anthony Rendon, Zack Cohart, Justin Upton.
@aznpikachu215 True. But we can all agree Ohtani is worth signing. And we all know he offered the Angels a chance to match the deal he signed with the Dodgers and Moreno turned it down.
It's also not just the signings either. It's the trades. Angels trade for guys like Soler and Moniak, while the Dodgers trade for guys like Betts, Scherzer and Trea Turner.
@aznpikachu215 Totally. The Angels have had some bad luck in regards to high profile FA signings. (Rendon, Mo Vaughn)
That said, a large part of the blame is on Angels management. Several of these free agents had warning signs and Angels management decided to ignore them. (Hamilton)
They have a history of signing guys who were coming off a solid season the previous year, but who have had a history of mediocre throughout their careers. Then these players didn't perform as well as the previous season. (CJ Wilson, Gary Mathews Jr., Upton,)
And, just like this offseason, they tend to sign guys on their way down in the hopes they'll regain some of their prior productivity. (See Hendricks).
So as you can seem, a lot of the pains the Angels are suffering through right now are self-inflicted.
😢
California is the closest US state to Japan besides Alaska and Hawaii and has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan in the USA.
Seattle Seattle Seattle.
I think that's a big part of it. It's not a coincidence ohtani nomo and others played in California. Logical Asian players chose there
There’s also 4 other teams in California, but they chose the Dodgers. Why?
I mean you can pretty much watch the games no problem if your team is on the west coast. That logic that Japanese players are signing to the Dodgers because it's close is straight up BS. The reason the east coast is bad for asian fans is because the game sometimes starts at 2 am to 4 am over there, while west coast games are around 9 am to 11 am. You're playing 162 games, you don't have social life besides the off season. It does not matter which team they sign to, the Dodgers are just too good staff wise.
@@Eric_E_123 The Anaheim and Sacramento teams are bad. The Padres and Giants are better, but not as good as the Dodgers. This is baseball, not rocket science...
The financial gap between the Dodgers and other teams is not merely about player payroll. There are probably also significant payroll gaps for executives and personnel (coaches, trainers, chefs, etc) and all the other costly quality of life amenities they provide to players. A salary cap would not change the fact that some teams will splurge on non-payroll expenses that have very real impacts on player performance.
I have a hunch this is why some other high payroll or large market teams do very poorly, while some low payroll teams do quite well. The Dodgers' cheat code is that they use their wealth to spend on seemingly all of it.
I think this is exactly right. Teams like TBR don't have the payroll, but they have the analytics to find some diamonds in the rough. But LAD can have high-end analytics AND offer $30mil+ salaries to the ones they find. All other sabermetric teams only keep them on club contracts and trade them off as rentals but LAD can grow the talent and then keep it for their whole career
@@traviebohave That's exactly why the Dodgers signed Andrew Friedman from the Rays. It is scary when a guy who is so skilled in analytics and was only restricted by payroll goes to a team like the dodgers. I would predict the Met's to have a similar trajectory after hiring David Sterns.
I can't remember who made the video but I think MLB needs a minum salary. Sure it might seem weird but it's not like these teams are run by people in poverty, and it would stop teams like they athletics going from champion ship contenders to struggling to get .500 seasons.
they already do have a minimum salary. 740k per player in 2024, 760k in 2025. A's and others already trying to hit that total year in year out.
Even then, I think players would still go for Dodgers with their player care focused company culture. You just can't beat a benevolent employee like that. Cap the salary to half of what Dodgers now spend, it pales in the amount of shit they throw to make sure players are taken care of just like how they casually throw extension to Toles contract despite his inactivity due to mental health issue. You cannot put off player with even 70% salary cap of their prior contracts when the add ons are this kind of benefit. Treat your employee rights and they will spread the good words to attract top talents.
@conanobrennan53 he means minimum team salary
@ which would basically be 26/40 at minimum salary
@conanobrennan53 I think the poster is saying that a team salary floor like in the NHL. In the NHL, teams not only have a cap teams can't go over, but also a floor where every team must spent, which btw is way above all players on roster X min salary.
It's all about the culture. Dodgers are getting free agents because they WANT to be there. Sasaki is the perfect example of this. ALL teams had a chance to sign him since all of them could only sign him for a minor league contract, Dodgers included, so it's not a money thing. Sasaki personally WANTED to be a Dodger.
Don't be mad at the Dodgers doing their job, be mad at your team's owner not trying as hard. Dodgers laid the blueprint, now it's up to other teams to decide whether to follow it to ensure their own team's success, or continue penny-pinching despite being owned by literal billionaires
its money, dummy. Everything LA is doing comes from their money. Sports fans are chuds so I understand its hard for you to grasp
"Not trying as hard"
The Dodgers have now cornered the Japanese free agent market for years to come thanks to Ohtani and now Sasaki. It goes deeper than just "not trying hard enough."
There is no reason for any NPB player to go to any team but the Dodgers now, and it has nothing to do with money. You can stick your head in the sand or you can identify that LA absolutely has a monopoly. The NPB will become their 2nd farm system.
There are literal owners trying to recruit these players, i don’t understand what makes the dodgers any different?? Giants, Mets, Padres, Yankees all tried to make a better offer for Sasaki. Yet you say owners don’t try? These players are not going to be convinced..
There’s no culture in LA, its just for the cameras and the bright lights to be noticed.
Yeah, it’s totally Dodgers culture bro, nothing to do with them in LA
@@DesmondPolite-sr6nv bro LA has all the attractions and lifestyle, its not about the culture in LA. Never was
But everyone cried when the Mets did this back in 2023
The Mets did and still spend a bunch but they paid for it. I feel like this deferred salary that the Dodgers are now getting quite good at needs to be adjusted as they seem to be “cheating” within the bounds of the rules.
Brother who is not crying right now...... people are whining all over like babies.
When you combine a great culture and high IQ players with an organization with deep pockets, players will want up be a part of that. This is the best organization from top to bottom- plain and simple.
It never rains in Southern California 🏄🏽♂️
🔥🔥🔥🔥
We just gonna ignore the news?
@@ethanpark7753 ain’t no thang 🤷♂️ go Dodgers!
“Ryan Brassiere”
"Ryan 👙"
That’s what you call a Support Player
The players aren't of Asian-American descent. They're of Asian descent. Not everybody's American, man.
They're not even of Asian descent. They're Asian. For Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki, they're Japanese, not of Japanese descent.
Get him Ernest
Turn around the career of Tommy Edman? What? On what planet was Tommy Edman not a very good player pre-Dodgers?
I know lol he spent like four months with us.
He really didn't do his research on that part.
Chris Taylor had a career turnaround once he got traded to LA (from like 2017-2021)
Justin Turner as well before he declined hard in 2022
Will Smith is part of LA's farm system callups who broke out and still has potential.
Andy Pages as well.
Weird almost as if they’re the largest media market for Asian fans or something.
What this video doesn’t address is the fact that the Dodgers are able to fund this development program, in no small part, because of the insane revenue they get from Japan. They basically have a monopoly on the Japanese market; Ohtani’s contract is paying for itself. The contract, I’ll remind you, that was 2x more money than any contract in history before it. That will essentially be free for them, allowing them to spend more money on development and analytics. No small market team like Baltimore or KC will ever have access to that money, those analytics, and those players.
So now we’ve wound up with a defending WS champion with a rotation of six #1 guys the year after they spent $1 billion in an offseason. THAT is what will break the MLB.
I really don't think its the development side that's attracting the players. It's the roster. Someone on insta made a comment that Roki is basically Durant going to the Warriors. Because if it was about development, the Mariners and Orioles have also been really good at developing talent but you don't see players falling over themselves to sign there.
you missed the biggest reason for sasaki to sign with LAD, when ohtani signed, not only he signed, almost 19 other big japanese corporations signed with the dodgers, for a japanese person in a 120million population country and baseball being by far their N°1 sport, any japanese will sign with the dodgers from now on if the dodgers want to sign him, its just a lucrative deal that you can't turn down, LAD was always a tier1 org, maybe you're an american you don't have this perspective but even in non baseball countries every single body knows LAD and NYY for fashion reasons.
Idk, seems finny that when NY did this for years and years and years it was 'whatever.' Now that someone else is doing it, all those folks in NY are finding things egrigiously unfair.
Something about this lightly reminds me of the 90s Detroit Red Wings. They loaded up on superstar Russians that nobody else was signing. Part of it was they were the 'first' to really invest in scouting for Russian players as hard as they did, which I'd say is comparable to Dodgers investing in player development in ways other teams dont. Also similar. It seemed their depth was just incredible by finding all the right parts in between that just boosted the value of the players who played there.
Eventually tides will shift, but for now, Dodgers have a chokehold on the Japanese market, lol. (And as this video suggests, the 'everyone else' market too.) Its for other teams to catch up, not for MLB to change rules jist because LA is doing it best.
The reason why nobody bitches about NY Yanks doing this for years & years is because they kinda suck right now. They're a complete shell of their former almost 4 peating selves after being comebacked on from a 3-0 lead by their most hated rival, the Red Sox. Back then people were bitching non stop about the Yankees spending & the Yankees winning all the time.
@TheRealBruceLouis yeah, there were always complaints from non yanks fans. Which is why I wanted to make sure to single out the NYY fans that are complaining about how ubfair things are today.
MLB needs to put harsher penalties for teams that spend too much and be rid of deferred money. That will crumble the Dodgers at the knees.
The yankees were called the evil empire for a reason, dumbass.
You do realize you need a league to play in and teams to play against right. Run your mouth and talk till 27 when there is a full season lockout because of this crap. It was jarring to me that on mlbtraderumors there was a poll that asked two questions should there be a cap and would you be ok with missing an entire season to get it? 67% votes yes to a cap and more then half were fine with missing a whole season to get it. If you think this is good for baseball you’re delusional.
Saying they turned around Tommy Edman's career is silly, guy played gold glove defense at short and second, got moved to center out of need by the cardinals and wowed everyone, then he got hurt and traded.
yeah edman turned their season around without him the dodgers probably wouldve lost before or in the nlds
@EMiles802 Tommy Edman had more rbi+ runs scored, than Ohtani did in the playoffs.
@@nobeardthepirate9172 exactly edman was the reason they won in the first place
very interesting video. i miss baseball, thanks for the fix.
Wait until everyone finds out they also added Tanner Scott 🤭😂
Yup. They did it…again. 😂🤣
Yeh I just saw....he's legit. Should be nice addition🍻
Crazy when you realize under the new CBA in 2022, every team takes home a share of 48 percent of total local revenues. Everyone shares that and in 2022 that was $200 million for each team. Can only imagine that number has gone up since. Where did that $200 million go for teams like the Athletics, Marlins, White Sox, etc. ?? Ask yourselves that. These teams can spend like the dodgers. They have to do it methodically but they can. Don’t let anyone make you believe the Dodgers TV deal gets them all these players. Your team can do this. Dodgers operating at smaller revenue numbers with all these contracts now actually.
Idk why the league dragged this out. Roki was gonna be a Dodger no matter what and his mind has BEEN MADE up. 😂 the Dodgers are making a mini Japan in LA! They get all the MVPs, all the best pitchers and all the best hitters. No one else in the league stood a chance to sign him. The Dodgers has unlimited spending power because all their players take deferred money and discounts. They've definitely broke the league. If MLB doesn't revise the whole deferred money scandal and add harsher penalties for teams that over spend, fans will draw away from the sport. Unless your of course a Dodgers fan. Then you'll go on to love it and say "your a hater, your team just don't spend and all the success they gain is earned". Lol simply put, it's none of that. Other teams will spend but the Dodgers swing all the best talent to them. There the only team in the entire MLB that can hand out hundreds of millions in contracts on 90% deferred money. No player would do that for no other team. 😂😂😂 its a straight joke! I was looking forward to the start of the season but not so much anymore. The Dodgers (if healthy) will blow every team out and no one will hit them. Their about to be the 1st team in baseball to have an undefeated season 😂 Their quite literally on the path to sweep every team in the playoffs. Its about to be very boring for everyone that isn't a Dodgers fan. (Although there's no shortage of bandwagon fans). Wow, I have ZERO respect for Roki and all the other Dodgers players! Cheap baseless rings is all they will continue to get. They mean nothing when you don't actually earn it and just buy every good player and create a super duper team 😂 wack!
MLB should get a salary cap at 250 mil tbh 😅
Let's be completely honest, Roki Sasaki on most other teams would be the media darling and be forced to address everything, and be the person most under the microscope. On the Dodgers, he has Ohtani, who is already entrenched as the modern Babe Ruth, and they have Yamamoto, also Japanese. That does figure into Sasaki signing with the Dodgers. Also, there is a large Asian presence in CA, specifically a large Japanese presence, more than most other states, if not all other states. Then there is the great weather (not counting fires) and then there is the proximity of the West Coast to Japan and the rest of Asia. All of those things matter. NY may have a large Chinese population but it does not have a large Japanese population and it is several thousand miles further away from Japan than CA. Sasaki can let Ohtani take the lead with the media while he learns, and he hasYamamoto there for support. That will allow Sasaki to concentrate on the million other things he has to adapt to. It's not always money, some factors are much more important.
A salary cap would further hurt most small market teams and honestly, make the MLB as bad if not worse than the NBA. Adam Silver has completely made that league uncompetitive and a joke.
Spending doesn’t equal success, case in point 2023 where the top 5 spenders not only missed the playoffs, three of them became bottom feeders.
i think not having a hard cap makes baseball unique and interesting because teams have to find different ways to be successful if they are not the richest.
MLB is careening towards a work stoppage when the current collective bargaining agreement ends in 2026. There is sooo much wrong with the game right now, from the way international players get to choose their teams instead of being drafted into the league, to the way lesser free agents without qualifying offers can actually get better offers than better free agents with qualifying offers, to the general feeling of hopelessness most small market teams have entering into every season. MLB is a mess.
1:07 it is sorta because they got shohei, the giants offered him the same exact contract and he picked the dodgers, if shohei picked the giants, they would be the team breaking mlb
He saw that he had a better shot at a championship with the Dodgers. The Giants needed more than just Shohei.
@@Imsosaditsgottenthis Blake Snell didn't sign until after spring training with the Giants, so that definitely contributed to his negative perception of them most likely since they were missing something that could turn a good pitching staff into a great pitching staff
but why did Ohtani pick the Dodgers?
@@ThisGuyHasName He was talking about Shohei.
@ exactly. I'm talking about why Shohei didn't like the Giants, Blake Snell wasn't with them at the time that Shohei made his decision
Oh, isn't it just adorable watching these rival fangirls in uproar, as if Roki were their homegrown hero, nurtured and raised in their backyard, singlehandedly orchestrating their epic championship triumph. It's almost as if he gave a heartfelt speech, swearing his undying loyalty to their cause and sealing it with a dozen promises of eternal allegiance, only to slip away under the cover of night to their sworn enemies. It’s as if Roki were smirking at a press conference, casually taking a swipe at his former team, all while draping their most hated rival's jersey over his shoulder as if it were the ultimate fashion statement.
I mean, how dare an international free agent have the audacity to consider his own personal priorities, the opportunity to actually win something, or, heaven forbid, family considerations when he can just turn to a sea of anonymous contributors on the internet to navigate his career choice, right?
Knee-slappin hilarious!
Why are you even here? This is the space we talk about such things. Go yell at the clouds.
@@PurdyGoodthis guys mad as hell
It is about the money! They have a payroll over $350m and twice that deferred. This is why the NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps. You talk about it's not about the money. Yes there are a few teams with that kind of money, but the majority of teams can't compete. This is why people lose interest in this great sport. It's not a level playing field.
Thank you for making this video, there’s way too much “wah wah dodgers bad because spend money” out there these days
Dodgers knew they were getting sasaki 3 years ago
Also, endorsements. Especially for the Asian players.
Comments I've seen: Yea tell your non Dodger owners to pony up and spend money. I say, On who exactly? Overspend on washed up 36 year old players, pay 700+ million on Soto and have no other hitting threat to protect him. Spend money to just spend it? MLB needs to start cutting teams and take what talent there is and spread it around the remaining teams. No more deferrals on contracts. NFL style contracts wouldn't hurt either. Player gets signed for $200 million and then suddenly can't hit his weight? Cut him like the NFL. Here is the lower guaranteed money Mr Player and don't let the door hit you on the way out. Baseball is just not fun anymore. Not fun to watch live (costs too much money) Not to listen on the radio (Even large markets sometimes don't have a good radio network.) Not fun to watch on TV ( so many commercials and so much time to play one game)
How about the fact that WEST COAST MLB teams have the big advantage of signing the best Japanese stars. Ichiro went to Seattle, Ohtani went to the Angels then to the Dodgers. This is a West Coast thing. MLB East and Central teams never get a chance.
Tanaka, Senga, Shota Imanaga… shut up, it’s not that.
@PurdyGood none of who is a star player in any way
The fact that players are taking pay cuts says it all.
Fans probably weren't calling for 'mlb to do something' when NYY won 4 WS from 1996-2000, and almost 2001. Now that's a dynasty. And we saw the Pads sign several superstars a few years ago, and get Soto, only to not even make the playoffs that season.
The Dodgers invest in the front office, coaching, player development, their farm system, scouting, their fans, etc. They are the crème de la crème. They treat their players and fans with respect. They honor the legacy of past Dodgers. They are the best run organization in sports. It is a wonderful time to be a Dodger fan. Gggooooooo Dodgers!
It’s even less about the money with them in some cases when you consider the fact that California has the highest income tax in the country
forget salary cap, they need revenue sharing among owners. Equal money from tv deal (local and national), merchandising and other source of income. That's how NFL, NBA and NHL do it. MLB does not do that. It's not just free agency, but international scouting, minor league development that are not equal. Your video is correct in that Dodgers... and a few teams like yankees, braves, and astros can spend money on facilities, training, and analytic scouting that can help coaches, players and team improve. Until teams can be on equal ground, then you can insert the salary cap. Salary cap only restrict high salaries for multiple players, but as your video shows Sasaki and many other free agents took less money to be on the Dodgers.
The Giants offered more money to some of the free agents and couldn't sign any of them in the past few years (Aaron Judge, Otani, etc). There is a reason for that.
My #1 sport is hockey, and the NHL salary cap has made things very interesting. I've been following the argument for a while as far as MLB goes, and the best argument I've read yet is for at the implementation of a salary floor. Go Dodgers!
Dodgers made MLB a one team league, I'll check back in around 5 years.
Word. Literally just gonna watch the bottom ticker hoping to see career ending injury after injury on these guaranteed contracts.
2:55 KBP (X). KBO (O)
In some ways I'd love this to be true: the Dodgers being rewarded for running a great organization, but at this point is still only "potentially breaking". The Dodgers will need to win 2 or 3 championships in the next 5-6 years (not just WS appearances) to break MLB. Plus there's a handful of teams which would easily copy the Dodgers' lead and be perennial contenders.
It’s hard to argue with success. I’m a hardcore Dodger fan and have been my whole life. Born into, had no hope of anything else. Am I a fan of how they’re going about spending banks of money? Nope. But just like in playing any sport, they are successfully playing by the rules. It’s on MLB to change how that this can be done. Back to the opening comment. It’s hard to argue with success. MLB knows this is good for the league, so they allow it because they benefit from it.
A thing people forget is that teams to have to pay a luxury tax (which all other teams benefit from) if the go over a certain amount.
As a protest for the 2025 Major League baseball season I will be voting for every dodger to be on the national League All-Star team
I think we don’t give enough credit to the fan base. The dodgers have the best fan attendance per game by far. I’m not saying that’s it’s the main reason but I’m sure it’s part of the equation. I’m sure there’s a particular feeling about playing in front of a sell out crowd on a nightly basis.
Just because the roster is stacked, doesn't mean they'll win the next ring suddenly. It's not just about the numbers. But also synergy between players. The boys need to enjoy playing together. To keep that morale and momentum going. Just like any workplace. We'll see how it pans out. Lots of egos and stars in that clubhouse.
You gotta give credit for the Dodgers hiring the right office and analytical staff. Yes you can throw money around and win like the 90s Yankees did, but the fact is the Dodgers are smart and don’t just throw money at every All-Star available.
-A Dbacks fan
Now do a video about how we just got Tanner Scott too! 💙💙💙
Blame owners for not caring about their teams.
Your completely ignorant of any knowledge friend.
One of the best dodger takes ever call mom all of these haters saying exactly what you said about buying. It's the player development and when they go to the Dodgers. They know they're gonna get better. So they can get a better contract later comma you hit it right on the head great video.
If you look back, the Dodgers have always had a special place in Asia. It goes back decades. All the whining about deferred contracts? They have been happening for years now. I.E. Bobby Bonilla. No one has complained until now. Tough Toodles if other teams can't think outside the box.
It definitely isn't just because they are in LA because otherwise why are the Angels such a disaster?
It's simply doing everything right and not forgetting the small stuff like scouting and their farm teams.
Meanwhile the Cubs, owned by a billionaire family, plead poverty.
The Mets has stated it is their goal to emulate the Dodgers, and I think to some degree the Yankees have created a system that maximizes talent coming into the majors. But the Mets have a way's to go with creating that system, and the Yankees still prioritize avoiding higher luxury taxes.
But having three superpowers instead of one will not help fans of all the other teams. And they continue to be content to plead poverty or not spend the CBT money.
"The LA Dodgers have signed Roki Sas-" MLB: "nope no wrong doing in the signing, we already checked"🤨
Dodgers about to win the world series 10yrs in a row calling it now lol
more like owners that don't spend should not included in the revenue sharing.
If you build it. Then they will come… from all over da world.
if the MLBPA ever agrees to a salary cap, it would have to come along with a salary minimum, and i think if the dodgers keep pushing this competition envelope then we might actually see progress on it. then each team would be using the same window of available salary like the NFL and NBA does, and the player's could make their choice based more on fit, development, opportunity and location rather than just which owner is richer. i think that would drastically level the playing field for MLB, and hopefully by next CBA
Exactly what I've been saying. They have an aura about them like how the Yankees used to be. Except, they're bigger somehow. I dont hate them, it's cool, but this is creating a problem. Say you have 10 superstars in a league and the Dodgers have 5. That leaves a lot of teams with nothing. That's bad for the sport as a whole. Let me give an example. As a kid I grew up watching Ichiro. He was an inspiration and a gentleman and the reason I love baseball, well him and King Felix. I wouldn't have that take if I were in Colorado. If teams dont have long term stars, it reduces the fans in that area. That means in the end, no league expansion, only teams moving cities. That doesn't grow the game. That turns a lot of fans off and you won't get them back easily. In the grand scheme of the sport, this is bad for baseball. Maybe there needs to be a minimum amount of homegrown talent to reduce the ability to buy an entire team of players and take away from other places. I don't see a salary cap even being plausible. This salary floor we have is good and mix it with a homegrown player minimum I think would help. Maybe 10 players of the 26 man roster. Just a random number here.
End on "The 5th Inning" was crazy!
Front office period. From analytics team to finance department to developmental of players. The constant re investment on their assets like international scout team to the constant upgrades on beautiful Dodgers stadium.
The other thing is the diehard Dodgers fans. They are one the most loyal fan bases in sports. Travel far to support their teams fan base is super diverse from Hispanic, Caucasian , now the Asian fan base.. why bc the Dodgers were the first to give different players of different backgrounds the opportunity to excel from Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela. Hideo Nomo, Chan Ho Park. This organization relates to all around the globe.
Thats why.
Geography helps too. LA is a desirable area, and living on the west Coast means a shorter distance and less of a time difference from their home countries.
Couldn’t have said it better myself 👏
It’s not just all the money they spend on free agents, they spend shit loads on player development and facilities. Plus LA has insane sponsorship opportunity. All that’s to say, it’s always all about the money
Malarkey. The Dodgers success with Ohtani especially had to do with EVERYTHING related to back pay. Deferring everything is legal in baseball, but it should be stopped. Pay up front or not at all.
A salary cap wouldn't have helped with Sasaki, who was already capped. Rather, a player like Sasaki (or Ohtani) shouldn't come out of Japan and get to pick which team they play with anymore than a top High School or College player does. There should be an international draft.
The Dodgers are highly likely to 5-peat
The Dodgers have finalized gathering the Japanese Infinity Stones
Should be a salary cap for $140 million a year per franchise. Spend it wisely. The rest of the money should go to youth sports leagues, cheaper equipment programs & better diamonds worldwide and not just in North America that we don't even use anymore. There are 3 nice baseball fields that I live right beside with home run fences, scoreboards & even lights and bleachers. Nobody is ever at them, ever. Yet I see highschool teams in Canada practicing on a tee ball field. Wonder why Canadian athletes are dying and becoming homeless rather than living their dreams and earning the wage they deserve, like $500k a year, not $7MILLION!!!!
The Dodgers have the money and are willing to pay the top players in the league. But also have the best weather in the country easily. The Japanese grow up idolizing the Dodgers team. Then end up playing for them. Now we have Yamamoto, Ohtani, Sasaki Ghidorah the three headed monster. Time to run over the league!
big whoops. the dodgers win their first true w.s. since 1988 and the media is comparing them to the '27 yankees, lol
Don't hate the player hate the game. Ohtani was already in a LA making it an easier decision for him. Their newest Japanese star...well probably nice to sign with a team that has another Japanese player on the team to ease the transition. Freeman, Braves didn't want him. Hernandez, they saw something in him that Seattle and Toronto didn't. Even with Betts Boston wanted to move on possibly thinking his age would result in a bad contract. Yes LA had to spend and it could have blown up like San Diego and the Mets did but they pushed in their chips and said all or bust.
Because it’s LA bro that’s why everyone wants to come to LA to live the dream and famous lifestyle and also play for the dodgers that are by Hollywood and just in general and LA has a very huge Asian culture and population and also LA is very diverse
I don't have an issue with the spending, but it appears that Japan is now off the market for all the other teams unless the Dodgers don't want a posted player.
The Dodgers are about to have a better 10 years than the last 10 years.
Dodgers we ballin boi we ballin boi
Japan is officially the dodgers farm system
“Asian-American descent.” Uhh, no, they’re Asians. They were born, raised and lived their lives in their own countries before coming to work in the US. I don’t think they changed citizenship when they came to the US, either. 😂
MLB needs a salary cap and floor
Well, it's official, the Dodgers have now replaced the Yankees as the Evil Empire.
Salary cap will not spread players out. They will still flock to teams with a culure of winning and look for a destination. Outside of ohtani, what have the dodgers done that so many other teams have done salary wise? Mets just spent more on Soto. There are only a few top earners on the dodgers. The aav drops fairly sharply.
If they set a hard cap, they also need to set a floor.
Don’t discount the east coast appeal for Asian players. Being closer to home is important.
Like I’ve always said: the Dodgers are the Rays w money. Ppl say money buys all, but if that were the case, the Angels would at least be competitive 💀 But the dodgers both have money to spend (wisely) but also can find diamonds in the rough and bring the best outta their players
@@nicholascorrenti857 what helps is unironically money in that department admittedly. Reason for that is because Dodgers POBO Andrew Friedman was quite literally probed away from the Rays. Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes was ironically also from Tampa as a player that Friedman had traded for
mlb: We’re not going to take away the Astros championship from 2017
dodgers: fine, we’ll take the rest from here
While what you say is true about the dodgers, I really don’t think established stars are thinking about that.
My favorite team is the dodgers and I’m as happy as can be rn.
LA WELCOMES “THE MONSTER OF THE REIWA ERA” 🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍
No hard salary cap. Perhaps there should be a salary floor, though, so owners are compelled to spend to make their teams better, as the Dodgers do.
"outside of the players they've signed they've developed 4 relievers and fixed 3 guys 8 years ago" and then the only actual example of them working with a hitter in the last 6 years is rojas. thats not real development. Players want to sign with the dodgers because why tf wouldn't you? if your a hitter you get the lineup protection of betts, ohtani, freeman, muncy, hernandez and get a free ride to the ws. If your a pitcher you get the run support of betts, ohtani, freeman, muncy, hernandez and know that when your on the bench you are supported in the rotation by 4 other cy young contenders that are(mostly) bought just like yourself.
The reason why the dodgers can do this is because they were able to defer a billion dollars in free agency. if just the ohtani contract wasn't deferred (which is a bullshit contract that boxed every team but the yankees and mets out by artificially raising the floor and not getting luxury taxed at the same rate as if he got 50/yr) then the dodgers would be paying with the luxury tax, 540 million dollars this year for this team. That exploit of the rules has allowed them to destroy competitive balance for the next 10 years while they still have the ohtani contract. Unless a cap and floor are put it, its gonna get pretty unwatchable
Basell means less when only 2 teams can compete. This is the downfall of the mlb.