Shohei Ohtani: The $700 million man who is somehow underpaid

As Shohei Ohtani smiles his way into the postseason, baseball smiles along with him. It really does, with a fully-loaded Cheshire cat of a grin, because why on Earth not?

MLB's most transcendent, mesmerizing, downright likable superstar is precisely where those vested in baseball's present and future health would like him to be. He's heading to the business end of the calendar in impertinent form, with interest in his every move off the charts, and with a juicy story guaranteed no matter what comes next.

Ohtani makes $70 million a year, receives and gets taxed on $2 million of it with the rest stashed for later, has an overall contract that reads $700 million over a decade — and he's underpaid. That's right, underpaid. Hugely so, if we're being real about it, because no player in sports means more to his league than the 30-year-old Japanese sensation does to this one.

Patrick Mahomes is a true household name, but he is one of many in the NFL, and thanks to the Swiftie audience, he has a teammate who is just as famous as he is.

LeBron James is the alpha of the NBA, with vast numbers of supporters and just as many who root against him, but pro hoops hasn't skipped a beat during recent postseasons that commenced without him and his Lakers being a meaningful part of it.

Perhaps only Caitlin Clark in the WNBA occupies a similar status as the overwhelming face of a sport, though even then, Angel Reese might like to point out that the rivalry between the two of them is really what makes it so good.

Ohtani, when hitting and pitching to a ludicrous degree of twin proficiency — or this season hitting and stealing bases with equal excellence — is a dream come true for MLB.

Underpaid though? Yep. Forget $700 million, does Ohtani