LOS ANGELES — For six years, the video remained a secret, squirreled away for the next time. In 2017, during their failed courtship of Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers held onto the minute-or-so-long clip as part of their closing pitch, one they never got to give.
Two weeks ago, the next time arrived, and the Dodgers weren't leaving anything to chance. For more than a decade they had chased Ohtani, flattered him, pined for him, only to be denied.
In 2012, they wanted him to be the first elite Japanese high schooler to skip Nippon Professional Baseball and sign with an MLB organization.
At the last minute, he declined. Five years later, a 23-year-old, Ohtani arrived in the major leagues with the temerity to think he could hit and pitch and do both full time.