The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out all the stops to sign superstar two-way pitcher/slugger Shohei Ohtani, including using a posthumous message from former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
During their pitch to Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers had an ace in the hole.
“One of the highlights of the whole meeting,” Ohtani said.
It was a 6-year-old video of Kobe Bryant encouraging him to join the Dodgers.
At ESPN+, inside the Ohtani sweepstakes: https://t.co/zEMLrq35cp pic.twitter.com/roCtjty97w
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2023
The Dodgers showed Ohtani a six-year-old video message from Kobe, which he apparently recorded for them in 2017 when Ohtani was first posted to the MLB from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Bryant apparently mentioned Ohtani by name in the video, telling him Los Angeles was the…
