Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes Reach New Level as Dodgers, Blue Jays Newscasters Battle to Woo Him to Their City

Two news broadcasters weigh in on the Ohtani sweepstakes.

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes have gone to levels we've never seen before as two broadcasters made their sales pitch on why he should choose between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jerry Hairston Jr. of Sportsnet LA made an on-air pitch as to why Ohtani should sign with the Dodgers this offseason, explaining that while he played for the Angels in the past, playing for the city of Angels is very different. Hairston Jr. also went on to state that if he chose Toronto, Ohtani would end up paying more in taxes, have to listen to two national anthems, and the weather in Canada is too cold compared to Southern California. He also went on to boast about the LA fan base.

"The Toronto Blue Jays are a great franchise. O' Canada, you'd have to listen to two national anthems up there brah, the taxes would crush you, you'd have the chance to make 500-600 million, Canada is too cold man." Hairston Jr. Said. "In your lovely Newport Beach home, you can commute there to Dodger Stadium every single night. The fan base here is electric, the stadium is always rocking, I guarantee every single year you're gonna have the chance to play in the post season, win the World Series."

Mic drop 🎤@TheRealJHair with the sales pitch to Shohei Ohtani. pic.twitter.com/oGUTFt0Bxo

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) December 7, 2023

Sid Seixeiro of Breakfast Television Toronto decided to respond to Hairston Jr. by taking a shot at his playing career and also argued that Ohtani would have to deal with less traffic. He also said the taxes in Canada are lower than California, and that Ohtani could inevitably avoid more natural disasters.

"Let's talk taxes, yeah we have taxes up in Canada, but California has the fifth highest tax out of any other state in America. Oh, you wanna buy a place close to Dodgers Stadium? The worst traffic in the world is in Los Angeles. Even if you're 10 kilometers away, it's still gonna take you eight hours to get to work every day." Seixero said, "Yeah it's cold up in Canada a little bit, you know what? It also snows in California last I checked. And based off of what Hollywood has told me, the great earthquake is coming at any point and you don't wanna be around any part of Los Angeles when that happens." 

.@sid_seixeiro has a very important message for Shohei Ohtani 👀 pic.twitter.com/fsNLAwLKb5

— Breakfast Television (@breakfasttv) December 7, 2023

Seixero would also go on to say that the Blue Jays will go ahead and respect the reigning AL MVP's privacy as he has been one of the more private athletes in professional sports.

While it was reported on Friday that Ohtani was choosing Toronto by J.P. Hoornstra of Dodgers Nation, nothing has been made official yet. Hoornstra did post an update on Saturday answering some questions, but reaffirming his belief that Ohtani will end up in Toronto. You can read that by clicking here.