It wasn’t that long ago that MLB All-Star pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani was shopping around for a new clubhouse to join.
Ohtani, the recently anointed NLCS MVP after a dynamic game four performance with the Los Angeles Dodgers—which included three home runs and 10 strikeouts across six scoreless innings—spoke with several teams once becoming a free agent after the 2023 MLB season.
After playing six years with the Los Angeles Angels, baseball executives were eager to lure the Japanese superstar away from La La Land, including the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
The Jay’s Team Manager, John Schneider, remembers.
Failure to Launch
“I think when we met with him, you felt good about it,” Schneider said in a press conference ahead of the 2025 World Series, where his team will have home-field advantage against Ohtani’s.
“You felt good about the feedback he was giving about our organization and opportunity here. But you never really know what a player’s feeling in free agency,” he said, adding personal matters could obviously impact the decision.
“Can’t really think about ‘What if,’ you know? You think about the 26 [players] we have.”
John Schneider jokes that he wants Shohei Ohtani to give back his Blue Jays hat and the Blue Jays jacket for Decoy that they gave him in their free agency meeting 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZxuKB5ZRLD
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 23, 2025
Schneider’s Friendly Warning for Ohtani
“He’s a great player,” he continued, before issuing a hilarious warning.
“I’ll say it again, I hope he brought his hat – the Blue Jay hat that he took from us in our meeting. I hope he brought it back, finally! And the jacket for [his dog] Decoy. You know, it’s like, give us back our stuff already,” he joked, before giving Ohtani more praise.
A representative for Ohtani and the Dodgers did not immediately respond to Men’s Journal’s request for comment.
“That aside, I think that we have a great team and just an unbelievable cast of characters and players,” Schneider said. “And I think things worked out the way they’re meant to work out.”
Game one of the World Series airs on Fox at 8 PM.
