The economic effect brought about by Shohei Otani (29, FA) was enormous. It could even go up further if you change your team in this year's free agent market.
Japanese media outlet Sports Hochi reported on the 22nd, “The economic impact of Ohtani, who is the American League MVP this year, is estimated at 50.4 billion yen (about 441 billion won).” This is according to the calculations of Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University in Japan.
According to the results of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) American League (AL) MVP vote announced on the 17th (Korean time), Ohtani succeeded in winning the award unanimously, sweeping all 30 first-place votes. This is the second feat following 2021, and it is the first time that a player has unanimously won MVP more than twice across the two major leagues.
This was a natural result considering Ohtani’s performance this season. This season, as a batter for the LA Angels, he had a batting average of 0.304 in 135 games, 44 home runs, 95 RBI, 102 runs, 20 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of 0.412, a slugging percentage of 0.654, an OPS of 1.066, and as a pitcher, he went 10-5 in 23 games, with an ERA of 3.14 and struck out 167 in 132 innings. WAR (win contribution compared to replacement player) ranked first overall according to both FanGraphs (9.0) and Baseball Reference (10.0). Despite having his season ended prematurely due to a torn medial collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, he put up tremendous performances.
In particular, Otani itself became so popular that it became a tourist attraction. The American media Los Angeles Times claimed in April, "Ohtani's star power is transforming the LA Angels into an international tourist attraction." It is said that people from all over the world, including his home country Japan, visited Angel Stadium, his home stadium, to see Otani. Fans who visited the baseball stadium not only watched, but also purchased merchandise such as uniforms and fans. At the time, a group of fans from Kyoto, Japan reportedly came to the United States solely to see Otani, with no plans to visit other attractions such as Disneyland in Anaheim (Angels home) or the beaches of California.
Professor Miyamoto’s calculations also reflected this. According to the media, annual salary and sponsorship contracts are 4.9 billion yen (about 42.8 billion won), souvenir product sales in the U.S. and Japan are 1.6 billion yen (about 14 billion won), and tourism revenue from Japan to the United States to see Otani is 1.2 billion yen ( (approximately 10.5 billion won), broadcasting rights revenue was 6.9 billion yen (approximately 60.3 billion won), and considering other ripple effects, the figure was 50.4 billion yen.
The media reported, “In 2021, when Ohtani won his first MVP, the economic effect was 24 billion yen, and it is rising upward every year, following last year’s 45.7 billion yen.” In addition, the Japanese national team took the top spot thanks to Ohtani's performance at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March this year, and this tournament is also said to have created an economic effect of 65.4 billion yen (about 572.2 billion won).
There is even a scenario that could have a bigger impact next year than this year. It's a transfer to the LA Dodgers. Professor Miyamoto estimated that if Otani were to wear the Dodgers uniform, the effect would be 64.4 billion yen (about 563.5 billion won). Becoming a member of the Dodgers, a traditional powerhouse and more popular than the Angels, could lead to an increase of 1.2 billion yen in broadcasting rights revenue and 1.8 billion yen (about 15.7 billion won) in tourism revenue.
The Dodgers are emerging as the leader in the race to recruit Ohtani in this free agent market. Even during Otani's first attempt in the United States at the end of 2017, they showed consistent interest and were selected as finalists, and they are one of the few big market teams that can afford a price exceeding $500 million (approximately KRW 647.7 billion). It is also an optimal location for Otani, who prefers the western region of the United States.
According to MLB.com, the official Major League Baseball website, 10 of the 14 top decision-makers from each club who gathered at a general managers' meeting not long ago predicted that Ohtani would head to the Dodgers. An executive at a National League club said, "When the Dodgers are obsessed with one person and make a move to target that person, they get the player they've always been looking for." According to Hector Gomez, a major league source and reporter for Deportivo Z 101, a news outlet in the Dominican Republic, the Dodgers are here In addition, they plan to try to trade Ohtani's teammate Mike Trout (32).
The Dodgers have a deep relationship with Asian players, and the same is true with Japan. Hideo Nomo (1995-1998), who announced the entry of Japanese players into the big leagues in earnest , 2002-2004), Kazuhisa Ishii (2002-2004), Takashi Saito (2006-2008), Hiroki Kuroda (2008-2011), Kenta Maeda (2016-2019), and Yu Darvish (2016-2019). 2017). On the other hand, the Angels had Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1997-2001) and Hideki Matsui (2010), but they did not have much contact with Japan. Naturally, the influence of the two teams in Japan would be different. There is no choice but to do so.