Category: Sports News

It’s the most exciting time of the year. The grass is cut. The sun is shining. The bats are cracking. The gloves are popping. You can talk yourself into any prospect being the breakout star to come. You can convince yourself that (almost) any player is in the best shape of their life. Hope is in the air. More importantly, baseball is in the air.

It’s also, if we’re being honest, kind of the most boring time of the year. Baseball is back, but it’s not really back. The games are rarely televised, and when they are, they’re half-filled with players you won’t actually watch at any point during the regular season. Every bad performance feels like a warning sign, while every good performance smacks you over the head with aLooney Tunes anvil that reads, it’s just Spring Training, it doesn’t mean anything.

But that’s the case for everyone. For you, for me, for every San Francisco Giants fan, and every fan of the other 29 teams in the Majors. We’re all loving that baseball is back, but frustrated that it’s not more back. We’re all hanging on every pitch and every swing, while also wondering what — if anything — we can learn from those pitches and swings.

So let’s take a brief break from Giants baseball. After all, that’s what they’re doing today — taking their last off day until … uhh … the day after Opening Night. Let’s look at some players on other teams, and see how they’re doing this spring. After all, their fans are watching them just as closely as you’re watching Carson Whisenhunt and Parks Harber and Luis Arráez. Let’s see what they’re seeing.

Spencer Miles

5 games, 6.2 innings, 8 hits, 1 home run, 5 walks, 9 strikeouts, 4.05 ERA, 5.20 FIP

Let’s start with the old friend who might soon be a new friend. Miles was poached by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rule 5 Draft, which means that, if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, he’ll be returned to the Giants in time for Minor League Opening Day (assuming he clears waivers).

Right now, it’s looking like that will happen. Miles sticking with Toronto was always a long shot: he’s basically never played above rookie ball, appearing in just two Low-A games in his draft year in 2022. The walks and the subsequent 1.95 WHIP paint the picture of someone who probably needs more Minor League seasoning — not really a shock, given that he’s pitched just 14.2 innings in his Minor League career. His fastball velocity also hasn’t been quite as strong as some might have expected after his Arizona Fall League showing a few months ago.

But the strikeouts offer a strong reminder as to what a tantalizing talent Miles is, and how good he can be if he stays healthy. Really, his Spring Training has been perfect for the Giants. He probably hasn’t pitched well enough to be rostered, especially for a team with World Series aspirations that made significant bullpen additions after the Rule 5 Draft … including the signing of Tyler Rogers. But he’s stayed healthy and pitched well … things that bode well for his (likely) future with the Giants.

Marco Luciano

14 games, 1-25, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts, .240 OPS, -21 wRC+

You’ve got to feel for Luciano. His 2025 was brutal — despite being the unanimous top prospect in the Giants organization for multiple years, he spent his final option year in AAA, never once getting called up to join a decidedly mediocre San Francisco squad. He started his offseason by getting unceremoniously waived early in the offseason, and not even because the Giants needed to clear a space to sign a player (though they did open up a space for the Rule 5 Draft). And then he entered the distinct cycle that unproven former top prospects who are out of options go through: his talent was intriguing enough that everyone wanted him, but far enough away that nobody wanted him on their Major League roster. So Luciano was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and waived. And then he was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles and waived. And then he was claimed by the New York Yankees and waived. Finally, he cleared waivers, and was outrighted to New York’s AAA affiliate.

So far, his spring has been exceedingly ugly. After ending his 2025 in a 2-45 slump, Luciano started his spring by going 0-23 in his first 13 games, before mercifully picking up a hit — a 65-mph single — in his most recent game. All while running a 33.3% strikeout rate.

Something clearly happened to Luciano over the past few years. Perhaps it’s a confidence issue. Perhaps the back injury he suffered has messed up his swing. Likely it’s some combination of the two, and probably some other things as well. But it’s sad to see, and I’m certainly rooting for him to figure things out this year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s been used strictly as a left fielder and designated hitter this spring.

Kyle Harrison

2 games, 7 innings, 8 hits, 2 home runs, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts, 9.00 ERA, 5.27 FIP

I’ll admit it: I was very sad when the Giants traded Harrison, even though the Rafael Devers trade was emphatically a win for the Giants. And I was quite happy when the Boston Red Sox turned around and traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason. The Brewers are where young pitchers go to maximize their potential, and if Harrison does that … well … the Giants won’t have any regrets, but they’ll certainly wish that Boston had asked for one of their other young starters instead.

Harrison was dynamic in his first outing, recording eight of his nine outs with strikes. He got roughed up in his second outing but, you know … it’s spring. He’s talked excitedly about the changes that the Brewers have made with him, and his fastball looks quite lively. The 12 strikeouts in seven innings is reminiscent of the top prospect who once tore through the Giants system while setting records with his strikeouts.

He’s got a great chance to break camp in Milwaukee’s rotation, and I can’t wait to see what he does with that opportunity.

Mason Black

6 games, 8 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA, 2.82 FIP

Black ended up with the Kansas City Royals after the Giants designated him for assignment early in the offseason. He’s working strictly as a reliever for the Giants’ 2014 World Series foe, and so far the results have been splendid. He’s yet to allow a run, and he’s ceding just a baserunner per inning. His stuff still isn’t quite dynamic enough to make the Giants regret letting him go, but he looks to have a decent shot at making Kansas City’s Opening Day roster as a part of the bullpen; and he still has an option year remaining, if not. I’m not going to put the cart in front of the horse, but if Black ends up having a quality year in the Majors, the Giants might have to think about re-evaluating what they’re doing with pitchers.

Kai-Wei Teng

4 games, 8.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 home runs, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts, 3.12 ERA, 7.74 FIP

I’ve made no attempts to hide my belief that Teng can be a very good MLB pitcher. It hasn’t really been on display for the Houston Astros, though, as he’s back to struggling with walks. The Astros are using Teng as a swing man — he pitched three innings his last time out — and he’ll certainly factor into their Major League plans at some point this year. But if his spring performance is any indication, he’ll probably work on some things in AAA before making his Houston debut.

And that’s your old friends update. There are other old friends of course — Mike Yastrzemski, notably, is hitting .429/.543/.964 for the Atlanta Braves — but it seemed best to keep our focus on the unproven youngsters that left the Giants this offseason.

Maybe one of them will come back. Hopefully all of them will do well.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — It was almost a year ago that torpedo bats caught the baseball world by storm, a 72-hour craze that generated some outrageous reactions along the way.

Except unlike the best of fads, the torpedo bats never actually went away, only the noise around them died down.

J.C. Escarra dabbled with one early last season, but did not see immediate results, so he went back to using his regular bat.

But with some help from the Yankees’ analytics department, the catcher has been using one again this spring — a heavier Aaron Judge model that they had turned into a torpedo bat, specifically designed to fit his swing — and strong results have followed.

The latest came on Tuesday, when Escarra collected a three-hit day, including crushing a 438-foot homer off Rays starter Ryan Pepiot in a 3-2 win at Charlotte Sports Park.

“I think it has to be the torpedo bats,” said Escarra, who also threw out a runner trying to steal second. “My boy Zac [Fieroh, the club’s manager of analytics and implementation in quantitative analysis] in the analytic hitting department, he’s doing a great job with my bats. I bought into the torpedo bats and maybe it’s that. Maybe it’s not, but I like to think so.

“This year, I said I’m going to live and die by this bat.”

The early returns have been encouraging, specifically in how hard Escarra is hitting the ball more consistently. His homer on Tuesday came off the bat at 108.4 mph, his second-highest exit velocity of the spring, behind only his first home run on Feb. 27 that came off the bat at 109.6 mph — both higher than his regular-season career-high of 107.1 mph. He came into Tuesday with an average exit velocity of 94.1 mph this spring, up from the 90.8 mph he averaged in his first season as a big leaguer.

That has only reinforced what Aaron Boone and the Yankees believe about Escarra, who is likely to make the club as its traditional backup catcher behind Austin Wells.

“J.C. is a really good player — I tell him this, too — he just hasn’t gotten a chance yet,” Boone said.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a top-half-of-the-league catcher. … He can play, man.”

Last season, after winning over the fan base as the former Uber driver who made the team out of camp, Escarra hit .202 with two home runs and a .629 OPS in sporadic playing time — totaling 40 games and 98 plate appearances.

He was more impactful behind the plate, with above-average framing metrics, but was relegated to Triple-A by the second half of the season as Ben Rice took on more catching duties to keep his bat in the lineup.

It remains to be seen how much playing time Escarra will get this season with Rice now the starting first baseman but a crowded bench picture, though he is giving himself a chance to make a bigger impact with his bat — torpedo bat, to be specific.

“I found one that feels comfortable and they made it into how my swing works,” he said. “So I’m seeing it through. I like to think it gives me a little bit of an edge.

“It gives me the biggest barrel that I can use, so maybe that pitch I used to miss, now I’m foul-tipping it and giving me another chance to hit. Maybe I just missed it and then the next one I hit it a little better. It’s all about the small advantages it gives me. If it is proven that it helps me, then I’m going to see it through and keep using it.”

As for his defense, Escarra said getting better at throwing runners out has been a point of emphasis. He only caught one runner stealing on 20 attempts last season, and the Yankees overall had the 10th-lowest caught stealing percentage at 20.3 percent (26-for-128).

All of his work this spring is making sure he is ready to go when called upon.

“I know my role, and I’m going to try to be the best at my role,” Escarra said. “Whatever the team needs, I’m going to be ready for it.”

Nolan McLean likely would have been the Game 1 starter had the Mets made the playoffs last year. 

And while that didn’t come to fruition, he got the ball Tuesday night in a playoff-like atmosphere on a global stage. For the most part, he showed the tantalizing talent that has made him one of the best prospects in baseball. 

The United States hurler allowed two runs on four hits over 4 ²/₃ innings while striking out four in a 3-2 defeat in the World Baseball Classic championship game against Venezuela at loanDepot park in Miami. 

“I felt good out there, proud of the way I competed,” said McLean, who graded his start a seven out of 10. “Stuff felt great, filling up the zone, tried to control everything I could.” 

McLean, who averaged 95 mph on his fastball during his rookie campaign, was consistently hitting 98 and above against Venezuela. 

“I thought Nolan pitched his tail off. We were not prepared for him to go five [innings],” manager Mark DeRosa said after the loss. “We were thinking he’d give us three, he’d give us four, and we were going to go right to the bullpen and see where the game was at. 

“That’s a testament to him. He had unbelievable stuff tonight.” 

McLean got off to an inauspicious start when Ronald Acuña Jr. rocketed a 108.4 mph single on the first pitch of the ballgame. But the righty settled down, inducing a double play from Maikel Garcia before Luis Arraez hit a lazy fly ball to center. In all, the frame took him just five pitches. 

He started the second inning with dominant stuff, striking out the first two with filthy breaking pitches before working around a bloop single. 

Venezuela broke through in the third, thanks in part to McLean uncorking a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position. Garcia came through this time with a sacrifice fly, but McLean avoided further trouble. 

He finally had an easy fourth inning, his first clean frame of the night, but allowed a leadoff homer to Wilyer Abreu in the next inning. 

“I thought Mac threw the ball great,” Bryce Harper said. “He’s a special talent. He’s going to be a special talent for a long time.” 

McLean’s Venezuelan counterpart, Eduardo Rodriguez, proved to be even better, though, keeping the United States off balance and mostly off base. He yielded one hit and one walk with four strikeouts in the first 4¹/₃ innings. 

On the hook for most of the night, McLean was spared from taking the loss after Bryce Harper’s two-run homer tied the game briefly in the eighth inning.

One former Yankee is heading to the Bronx Bombers’ biggest rival.

Veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle has agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox, The Post’s Jon Heyman first reported.

The move comes days after Boston signed lefty reliever Danny Columbe to a big league deal. The contract for Kahnle should give the Red Sox more depth in the bullpen.

Thanks in large part to an All-Star season from Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox ranked second in MLB — and tops in the American League — in reliever ERA (3.41) and ninth in WHIP (1.25).

Kahnle, 36, pitched last season with the Tigers, holding a 4.43 ERA and 1.302 WHIP across 66 appearances. He also saved nine games for Detroit, which made the playoffs as a wild-card entrant. He was mostly undone by an ugly July in which he carried a 19.64 ERA across 11 games.

Most of his innings, 195 2/3 to be exact, came over six seasons and two separate stints for the Yankees. He was first acquired by New York in a pre-trade deadline deal with the Rockies in 2017.

His best season in The Bronx came during his last in 2024, when he recorded a career-best 2.11 ERA over 42 2/3 innings.

Kahle didn’t allow a single earned run through his first eight playoff games in 2024 but allowed two without recording an out in Game 5 of the Fall Classic, taking the loss as the Dodgers took the series.

He’s known for wielding his changeup as his primary — and sometimes only — offering, and he deployed it at an 86 percent clip in 2025.

Kahnle also pitched two scoreless innings for Team Israel at this year’s World Baseball Classic.

Observations from Mets spring training on Tuesday.

All Right

Francisco Lindor continued to take strides in his comeback from left hamate bone surgery, taking swings in a game from the right-handed batter’s box and he “looked like a normal player,” Carlos Mendoza said.

Slow Play

Like Sean Manaea, Craig Kimbrel hasn’t seen his velocity come all the way back as he tries to make the bullpen. Perhaps it will happen in the regular season.

Mendoza said Kimbrel has looked good, but added the team will have “some tough decisions.” Kimbrel said he “absolutely” feels like he can help the team with his current stuff.

Caught My Eye

The new-look infield made its Grapefruit League debut, with Jorge Polanco at first, Marcus Semien at second, Bo Bichette at third and Lindor at shortstop.

They made it through the game against the Marlins seemingly without any issues.

Wednesday’s Schedule

The Mets are off and will pick up their Grapefruit League schedule Thursday against the Astros at 6:05 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla., with Kodai Senga starting.

Derek Jeter played in seven World Series and won five of them. He also competed with Team USA during the first two World Baseball Classic tournaments in 2006 and 2009.

As talk of the WBC atmosphere rivaling the World Series grows louder, the former Yankees captain, Fox analyst and Hall of Famer stuck to his trademark script.

“I think the people that say it’s bigger than the World Series never played in a World Series,” Jeter said Tuesday during FS1’s pregame coverage ahead of the championship game between Venezuela and Team USA.

“I think people are always trying to compare what’s bigger. … It’s completely different. When you retire, they ask, ‘How many championships did you win?’ for a reason. Playing in a World Series, going through a 162-game schedule plus the postseason, is difficult to do.”

Jeter’s remarks come on the heels of several high-profile major leaguers saying the possibility of winning the WBC and bringing glory to their country would mark the biggest accomplishment of their career.

Braves superstar and Venezuela standout Ronald Acuña Jr. said to ESPN his team’s victory over Italy to reach the 2026 WBC final was “No. 1 for me in my career.”

"When you retire, they ask 'how many championships did you win?' for a reason."@derekjeter weighs in on the attempts to compare the World Series and the World Baseball Classic. pic.twitter.com/z9HoU5Jfwq

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 17, 2026

Before the D.R. was eliminated, Mariners star Julio Rodriguez said, that compared to a possible World Series victory, “winning the World Baseball Classic would be top of the list.”

Most notably, Aaron Judge, who succeeded Jeter as Yankees captain, called the tournament atmosphere “bigger” than the World Series after leading his team to a 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

“I’ll say, it’s been bigger,” Judge told reporters. “The World Series I was in versus the crowd here and the one we had against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series.

“The passion that these fans have representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”

Judge’s comments also puzzled Yankees announcer Michael Kay, who said he couldn’t “wrap my mind around” the sentiment.

Unlike Acuña and Rodriguez, Judge has World Series experience as he helped lead the Yankees to the 2024 Fall Classic, which the Dodgers won in five games. Acuna was injured when the Braves won it all in 2021.

Jeter acknowledged the pride players feel representing their country in the WBC, a tournament in which he hit a solid .347/.439/.429 across 14 total games.

But, after appearing in seven Fall Classics, Jeter said that it’s still a “completely different” baseball stage.

“Doesn’t take anything away from the WBC,” Jeter said. “It is an absolute honor, I’ve done it a couple of times, it’s an honor to wear the USA across your chest. How this tournament has grown over the last 20 years is impressive.”

“This really unites fans. I remember playing for the US, running into Boston and them telling me, ‘Hey, I hate the Yankees, but I’m going to enjoy rooting for you the next two weeks. So it doesn’t take anything away from the WBC [but] it’s completely different.”

JUPITER, Fla. — If all goes according to plan, Tobias Myers will be in the Mets bullpen, pitching multiple innings — as he did Tuesday against the Marlins.

His numbers weren’t great in a 5-5 tie at Roger Dean Stadium, but he’s been pleased with his adjustment to a new team and something of a new role.

As the Mets have noted since Myers’ arrival in a trade from Milwaukee, the right-hander is considered much more than a throw-in piece coming along with Freddy Peralta.

After Myers was stretched out a bit early in the spring, manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday they are having him throw around 40 pitches to adjust to a long relief spot in the pen.

He was sharp in his first inning of work Tuesday before his command failed him when he went back out for the seventh.

But Myers has felt good about his stuff this spring, as he explained recently in Port St. Lucie.

“I just like to compete,” Myers said. “I’m ready to flip the switch to the regular season.”

And he’s prepared to embrace the opportunity that he expects to have in Queens, which isn’t surprising considering the route he took to get here.

Many Mets fans recall Myers as an important piece of Milwaukee’s pitching staff when the teams faced off in the wild-card round in 2024.

It was Myers who started the decisive Game 3 and tossed five shutout innings before turning it over to the bullpen.

That’s when Devin Williams gave up Pete Alonso’s memorable home run that extended the Mets’ playoff run.

But even before that, Myers had already defied the odds to get to the majors.

As he noted, he was designated for assignment by three teams in 2022 alone, as Cleveland, San Francisco and the White Sox all let him go before he signed with the Brewers following that season. 

“I don’t think I knew how to deal with it then,” Myers said of the disappointment of not being able to stick with a team. “I think that’s why the trend kept going. But it definitely helped me, for sure, in the long run. I found out how to handle the business side of baseball at a young age and I think that was beneficial.”

And he’s brought that with him to the Mets, where the 27-year-old has impressed for much of the spring and could still end up starting at some point.

“If he goes to the bullpen, [it means] everyone is healthy in the rotation,” Mendoza said.

As the manager pointed out, the Mets already have six starters, and Myers said he’s OK with whatever the team wants him to do.

He went through that eventful 2022 and wasn’t especially effective with Double-A Biloxi in his first season in the Brewers organization.

Then he broke out in 2024 in Milwaukee before an oblique strain early last year got him sidetracked.

He’s appeared in just 49 games in the majors, yet the Mets have high expectations, and Myers said he’s ready to deliver, with the lessons from 2022 still fresh.

“To be DFA’d three times when you’re still starting your career really opens your eyes and makes you realize you need to go out there and get it,” Myers said. “I learned you’ve got to be good when called upon. You’ve got to commit and be available.”

And when you’re given the chance, pitch well.

“No team is going to let you struggle for a couple of years and just keep going,” he said. “It’s a tough business and you have to produce.”

There was a time—not long ago—when baseball believed it understood its place in the modern sports economy. The sport was a regional game masquerading as a national pastime, rich in history, but lagging in marketing muscle.

Without a salary cap, baseball’s biggest stars made their money in contracts, not commercials. The legends of the sport sold jerseys, not entire industries. 

Then Shohei Ohtani arrived like a rocket tearing across the sky. He didn’t just change baseball’s economics; he transformed them.

In 2026, Ohtani is expected to earn more than $127 million in off-the-field earnings alone. A number so staggering that it doesn’t just shatter the record for baseball, but it shatters the record for all of sports. Period. The number eclipses Tiger Woods’ once untouchable mark of $105 million in endorsement deals from 2009. It’s a number that places Ohtani in a category all his own.

And yet, the most absurd part isn’t the number itself. It’s the gap.

According to Sportico, Ohtani earns more from endorsements than the top 15 highest paid MLB players, who collectively earn $47 million in off-field income. It’s more than likely that Ohtani earns more in endorsements than every single player in MLB combined. Think about that for a moment. In a league filled with MVPs, Cy Young winners, and billion-dollar franchises, one player has turned the endorsement economy into a one-man monopoly.

That’s not a gap. That’s a canyon.

Ohtani’s rise to this record-breaking milestone is a triumph, but it’s also an indictment on Major League Baseball. For decades, the sport failed to globalize its stars the way the NBA, PGA, NFL, and soccer did. MLB marketed teams, not individual personalities. It tried to sell the country on tradition instead of transcendence. 

Even Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton ($20M) makes more in off-field endorsements than any other MLB player outside of Ohtani. 

According to Forbes, the list of highest paid athletes in terms of off-field earnings in 2025 reads like a who’s who of global superstars. 

Stephen Curry, thanks to his Under Armour deal that ended in 2026, was the only other athlete close to Ohtani at just under $100 million. Next were LeBron James ($85M), Lionel Messi ($75M), Cristiano Ronaldo ($50M), Kevin Durant ($50M), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($45M), Rory McIlroy ($45M), and Woods ($45M).

Scottie Scheffler ($30M), Neymar ($30M), Patrick Mahomes ($28M), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($25M) round out the top-ten, but Ohtani is on an island all his own. 

Ohtani is baseball’s first true modern global superstar—an athlete who moves seamlessly between cultures, languages, and markets. In Japan, he is omnipresent. Billboards. Television. Subways. Taxis. Entire city blocks feel like extensions of his brand.

His endorsement portfolio reads less like a sponsorship sheet and more like a corporate empire: Seiko, Kosé, Kowa, Hugo Boss, Japan Airlines, New Balance, Fanatics, and more than 20 total partnerships. When Japanese brand Kirin signed him as the face of its “Immune Care” campaign, it wasn’t just a deal—it was a nationwide event.

This is what baseball never had before: an athlete who isn’t just famous, but culturally embedded.

And here’s the twist that makes the entire story even more audacious—Ohtani is doing all of this while technically being one of the lowest-paid players on his own team.

His $2 million salary with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2026 ranks 17th on the roster. A number that would be laughable if it weren’t so strategically brilliant.

Because Ohtani understood something most athletes never do: money isn’t always about what you earn— it’s about when you earn it, and what it allows you to build.

By deferring $680 million of his $700 million contract, Ohtani didn’t sacrifice wealth. He weaponized it. He gave the Dodgers financial flexibility to construct a superteam, stacking talent around him like kindling around a fire. The result? Back-to-Back World Series Championships. Global visibility. Baseball dominance.

And dominance, in turn, feeds the machine.

Winning amplifies relevance. Relevance drives endorsements. Endorsements create empires.

That’s why the Dodgers are the modern day Evil Empire, and Ohtani is at the center of it.

Even the Dodgers’ clubhouse culture reflects his reach. Last season’s home run celebration—a playful gesture mimicking a Japanese skincare ad — wasn’t just a joke. It was a signal. A reminder that Ohtani’s influence stretches beyond the diamond and into the everyday rhythms of global commerce.

He isn’t just in advertisements. He is a walking advertisement.

New Balance understood this early. Their partnership with Ohtani isn’t structured like a traditional baseball deal—it mirrors the architecture of an NBA signature empire. Shoes, apparel, global campaigns. In 2026, the brand expanded his collection into dozens of products, effectively turning him into a walking, swinging, pitching marketplace.

And still, somehow, this might only be the beginning.

Because what makes Ohtani truly dangerous to the record books isn’t just his popularity—it’s his duality. He is the only athlete in modern sports who can dominate two roles at once: a once-in-a-century talent at the plate and a Cy Young Award-caliber pitcher on the mound. Ohtani has the only two 50-50 seasons in MLB history. 50+ homers and 50+ stolen bases in 2024, and 50+ homers and 50+ strikeouts as a pitcher in 2025. He has four MVP awards. Two World Series titles. A résumé that reads like fiction.

The word “unicorn” gets thrown around too easily in sports. With Ohtani, it still feels insufficient.

Even when you widen the lens beyond active athletes, the only name that truly dwarfs him is Michael Jordan, whose Jordan Brand empire generated an estimated $300 million in 2025. But that’s a different kind of legacy—built over decades, fueled by nostalgia and ownership.

Ohtani is doing this in real time.

And that’s what should both excite and terrify the rest of baseball.

Because this isn’t just about one player making more money than everyone else. It’s about one player changing the economic blueprint of an entire sport. The next generation of stars won’t chase contracts the same way. They’ll chase markets. They’ll chase global reach. They’ll chase what Ohtani has built—a brand that transcends borders and turns performance into currency.

Baseball didn’t create this moment.

Shohei Ohtani did.

And now the sport is racing to keep up with the future he’s already living in.

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