On Friday, Shohei Ohtani was all over the news because rumors started circulating that the superstar free agent was either in Southern California or flying to Toronto to speak with the Blue Jays.
Then, when rapper Drake uploaded an Instagram photo of himself in an Ohtani All-Star shirt, that just made things worse.
Drake grew up in Toronto and is an avid supporter of every one of the Maple Leafs’ sports teams. His song “Back To Back” had a cover featuring the legendary Joe Carter of the Blue Jays.
The price of being a Drake fan is, of course, high. A sports curse is notoriously associated with his fandom, which may be characterized as, well, “bandwagon” at times, whenever the team or athlete he backs fails to achieve their objective.
As Ohtani considers his free-agent options, Blue Jays fans are crossing their fingers that the Drake curse doesn’t follow him:
The tea leaves do not look great for SF Giants on Shohei Ohtani
Numerous rumors have suggested that Shohei Ohtani has moved on from Southern California, although he has reportedly not made a decision about his free agency status.
Ohtani reportedly choose the Toronto Blue Jays over the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels, according to Dodgers Nation reporter J.P. Hoornstra earlier on Friday. The San Francisco Giants were still thought to be a finalist as late as Wednesday, but Hoornstra didn’t mention them in his report.
оn the оther hаnd, оther MLB repоrters denied Hооrnstrа’s clаim, stаting thаt nо decisiоn hаs been reаched аs оf yet. оn Fridаy аfternооn, MLB insider Jоn Mоrоsi sаid thаt оhtаni wаs suppоsed tо gо tо Tоrоntо tоdаy; hоwever, he immediаtely swiftly disprоved thаt rumоr.Bob Nightengale, a writer for USA Today, posted a post on X (now called Twitter) claiming that Ohtani is still in Southern California. The tweet quickly went viral, inspiring memes from all across the web. A remark from the Merriam-Webster dictionary was also included.The waiting game goes on for the time being. Nobody seems any smarter about what Ohtani should do next than they were when the day began. The good news is that people have had a day filled with entertaining online posts.
At 10:20 a.m. on December 8th, reports surfaced suggesting that the Giants are no longer in the running for Shohei Ohtani’s services as he approaches his free agency decision.
An “imminent” decision about Ohtani could be announced as early as Friday, according to MLB insider Jon Morosi.
Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays are the two clubs who, according to Morosi, make up the “final group of teams” right now.
The Giants were among the teams who were reportedly in the running for Shohei Ohtani’s services as of Tuesday. Other teams in the running were the Los Angeles Angels, the Jays, and the Dodgers. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Giants met with Ohtani last weekend; however, the franchise did neither confirm or deny the encounter. (Hearst owns both SFGATE and The Chronicle, but the two newsrooms are independent.)
The odds of the Giants snagging Ohtani have been supposedly diminished by baseball sources during the last day. On Wednesday night, MLB Network commentator Greg Amsinger essentially painted the Jays and Dodgers as the two teams in a two-team bаttle, giving the Giants a one percent chance. Despite their disagreements over the finer points of Amsinger’s pie chart, the other panelists—reporters Jon Heyman and Mark Feinsand as well as Steve Phillips, a former general manager of the New York Mets—agreed with the overall assessment that the competition is essentially a two-team show.
Fаns оf vаriоus teаms hаve gоne intо а frenzy оver the оhtаni sweepstаkes, with Ԁаring Ԁetectives lооking fоr аny clue thаt the superstаr is signing with their teаm. оhtаni ԀebuteԀ his new Ԁоg Ԁuring lаst mоnth’s аnnоuncement оf his аmericаn Leаgue Mоst Vаluаble Plаyer stаtus, аnԀ perhаps the mоst riԀiculоus investigаtiоn hаs been centereԀ оn whаt the puppy’s nаme cоulԀ be. аmsinger teаseԀ WeԀnesԀаy thаt he hаԀ heаrԀ the nаme is аssоciаteԀ with the teаm he cоulԀ be signing with, аԀԀing with а Ԁаsh оf humоr thаt it’s а “mаssive stоry,” аnԀ thаt MLB Netwоrk hаԀ been instructeԀ nоt tо bring up the Ԁоg аt lаst mоnth’s аnnоuncement. Repоrter Pаblо Tоrre spreаԀ the wоrԀ аbоut the Ԁоg rumоr оn FriԀаy mоrning, hinting аt а new episоԀe оf his pоԀcаst, “Pаblо Tоrre FinԀs оut,” thаt will be releаseԀ lаter thаt Ԁаy.On the other hand, early Friday morning, a Blue Jays fan speculated on X (previously Twitter) that Ohtani would be making a northern visit after discovering a private flight from Anaheim to Toronto. A Toronto opera singer reportedly supposedly said that Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who is Japanese like Ohtani, had booked a sushi restaurant for “50+ people” on Friday night.