Is it ridiculous that Juan Soto got paid more than Shohei Ohtani?
Is it ridiculous that Juan Soto got more money than Shohei Ohtani? Felger and Mazz believe that it is.
Mazz: The fact that he got more than Ohtani to me is borderline ridiculous.
Felger: I think it frankly, by the way, stupid.
Mazz: Like look, we all know how free agency works, the most recent guy gets the biggest deal. I get it. But Ohtani is different.
Felger: We haven’t hit on this yet, I’m glad you brought it up. Go ahead…
Mazz: He’s a two-way player. He’s unique.
Felger: He’s a superstar.
Mazz: Not only that, he pitches and hits.
Felger: But what I mean by that is like he’s a global crossover superstar. Everyone knows who he is. He couldn’t walk down the street without getting mobbed. Your wife has probably heard of him. You know what I mean?
Mazz: Of course.
Felger: Like, Ohtani might be the only guy in baseball who fits that description. But he does. I said this last night on TV, before the signing, and we started hammering this, I guarantee you we have listeners who know who he is kind of, but don’t really like know who he is.
Jim Murray: He’s not a household name. He’s not.
Felger: He’s not. He’s one of the stars of the game of baseball, which means he’s kind of a second tier national sports star. Like, you know, there’s 20 NFL players that everybody knows, there’s 20 NBA players that everybody knows, the highest paid player in every sport, maybe Conor McDavid isn’t because it’s hockey, but you know from Patrick Mahomes to Jayson Tatum who is on every second commercial. You look up during any ball game and Jayson Tatum is pitching something. He’s a global brand. Is Juan Soto in one commercial?
Mazz: No, not that I’ve seen.
