Lakers News: How Kobe Bryant Helped the Dodgers Sign Shohei Ohtani

Kobe's posthumous impact is incredible.

The spirit of legendary Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant lives on in Los Angeles, as the most iconic figure the city has potentially ever seen just played a massive role in the greatest free agency signing in baseball history, posthumously. 

Here's Jeff Passan's explanation on it:

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 first ballot Hall of Famer recorded a video back in 2017, when Shohei first hit the MLB market. At that time, he chose to sign with the Angels, but six years later, Kobe's "pitch" has paid off.

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Ohtani should join Bryant as one of the most recognizable figures in sports history, and he'll do so representing the city of Los Angeles for likely the remainder of his career. 

His 10-year, $700 million dollar contract goes to show how much he means to the city of LA as a player and person, and Bryant's pitch to him from 2017 still being utilized effectively today shows the impact that Kobe had on the City of Angels.

As Ohtani revolutionizes baseball, it's hard not to have tremendous confidence in the Dodgers to put together at least a couple more World Series runs. Like Bryant, Ohtani could become the face of winning in Los Angeles, and for that reason, it's only fitting that Bryant's case for Shohei to come to LA was both important, and effective. 

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