Shohei Ohtani is under fire for his potential $240 off field issue. However, MLB analyst has downplayed the entire situation.
Giants' Justin Verlander's brother downplays Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's $240M distraction originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t been playing particularly well lately, including suffering a mid-week sweep at the hands of the Angels. In fact, the Dodgers lost every game they played against the Angels this season. During the series, former Angel Shohei Ohtani found himself on the wrong side of history.
“According to Baseball Almanac's tracker of every triple play in MLB history, it marked just the eighth the Angels have ever turned. As for the Dodgers, they have now fallen victim to 24 triple plays. There had never been a triple play in the 152 games between the Dodgers and Angels since the Freeway Series began in 1997,” SI’s Sam Connon wrote.
Off the field, Ohtani is facing growing distractions, including an ongoing lawsuit.
“A Hawaii real estate investor and broker are suing Shohei Ohtani, claiming the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his agent got them fired from a $240 million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s coveted Hapuna Coast that they brought him in to endorse,” The Associated Press’s Jimmy Golen wrote. “According to the lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Friday, Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, increasingly demanded concessions from developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto before demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal.”
While the situation is unfolding off the field, MLB analyst and Justin Verlander’s brother, Ben Verlander, has attempted to downplay its significance.
“In a since-deleted tweet, Verlander dismissed the $240 million legal fight by telling fans, ‘Let’s all remember to not just get mad because you see his name attached to something. If his name wasn’t Shohei Ohtani we wouldn’t even know about this,’” Heavy.com’s Alvin Garcia wrote. “He added, ‘Never seen so many people care about CIVIL lawsuits regarding real estate.’”
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Verlander has certainly minimized the seriousness of the ongoing situation, which could escalate quickly. The Dodgers have done well to keep the matter from becoming a clubhouse distraction. However, Verlander’s public comments aren’t a good look. Ohtani will continue to play, but if the lawsuit doesn’t go well, Verlander’s dismissive remarks may come back to haunt him for a long time.
Category: Baseball
