The Los Angeles Dodgers just signed Shohei Ohtani to a massive, record-setting deal. The eye-popping details – $700 million over ten years – have the sports media world and otherwise in a complete tizzy. Everyone is abuzz, and one of the consensus arguments made is that this is a great day for baseball.
To some degree, this is an accurate reflection of things. Absent your thought about the Dodgers, they’re one of the most recognizable sports franchises in the U.S. and the world. It’s cliche, but there’s nothing quite like Los Angeles, and the marketing opportunities both for Ohtani and the Dodgers are otherworldly.
There will be plenty to fawn over and wax poetic about this deal. The Dodgers have been relentless in their pursuit to be a juggernaut in the sport, and while their October luck hasn’t formulated enough, they won’t ever be satisfied. Nowadays, that kind of ownership and relentlessness is hard to come by.
So, now what?
Well, Ohtani just signed with the Dodgers. That is a big deal in its own right. The Dodgers are one of the most storied franchises in MLB history. Their standing in baseball stretches beyond decades, through color barriers and a move from Brooklyn out to Los Angeles. They have a national fanbase, have been home to some of the game’s greats, and play in a significant market. They’re also really good every season and annually contend for the postseason. That’s a significant difference from how things were for Ohtani when he played down the Freeway for the Los Angeles Angels, obviously.
Then, you take a look at the rest of the team. They’re littered with stars, notably boasting Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two former MVPs. It’s an All-Star cast.
In a way, it provides for an interesting dynamic. MLB has had stars in big markets before. But this might prove to be the biggest opportunity yet for the league to strike while the iron’s hot. So, it begs the question: How much more will we see of the Dodgers now that they have Shohei Ohtani?
Last season, the Dodgers had several nationally televised games. This isn’t a surprise for the reasons listed previously. According to True Blue LA, the Dodgers’ SB Nation blog, the team finished with 23 nationally televised games. True Blue LA designated those games to be broadcast on Apple TV, ESPN, Fox, FS1, and TBS.
MLB recently tweaked their scheduling to allow every team to play every team. This, in itself, offers more of an opportunity to showcase Ohtani nationally. There’ll be several places that Ohtani’s either never played in or rarely played in that will come up now that he’s with the Dodgers. The Dodgers also have planned trips to Toronto, who were linked to Ohtani until the bitter end amid a chaotic scene earlier this week. They’ll also play Juan Soto and the New York Yankees in The Bronx from June 7-9. As of now, two of those games (Friday and Saturday’s games) have primetime designations, but no broadcast information yet.
You can imagine that the league and its partners might do everything they can to put a spotlight on Shohei Ohtani now that he plays on one of the most successful franchises in the league. As they finished with 23 last year, we’ll shoot high and say the Dodgers end up with 28 games on TV, nearly approaching 30, which might be feasible if the Dodgers are a contender all season again.
