SEATTLE – The first half of Major League Baseball’s dreams has been blessed.
Many surprising teams make playoff runs (who was the Marlins nine games away from the Mets?)
Attendance increased by 8 percent (yes, higher!)
Match times have been trimmed down by 26 minutes, which is great for those of you who are even on deadline.
Perhaps topping off all of this positive news is the superstar performance of two-way star Shuhei Otani, who achieved his first-ever MVP win with what may be the greatest single season ever played; As a hitter, he leads the majors in slugging percentage (. 663) and OPS (1,050), and as a pitcher he leads in opposition batting average (. 189).
The All-Star Game should, by all rights, be a celebration of Okhtani’s outstanding play and great play.
Unfortunately, the way injuries and losses stack up for the Ohtani Angels, commercial speculation about the game’s MVP may cloud some of the celebration.
On Friday, The Post reported that People’s Angels are starting to distance themselves from their no-sell stance and are telling people they’ll assess the situation in the next “two to three weeks,” which means Ohtani’s trade could at least become a consideration.
And that was before they went on a nine-game losing streak in the first half of Saturday’s final and fell below . 500 for the first time since April.
Logic says Ohtani should go, but trading arguably the greatest player of all time transcends analytical calculations, and two people who know Angels owner Arte Moreno said Sunday they still believe he’ll eventually carry the trigger.
Moreno understands the historical ramifications.
The obituary of Harry Frazee, the Red Sox owner who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, certainly began with his most memorable deal: selling Ruth to the rival Yankees for $120,000, triggering the “Bambino Curse.”
The good news for Moreno is that nothing he can do — even trade the best all-around player since Ruth at least — can curse the Angels, since they’re clearly already cursed.
Also, while I’m no economist, the guess here is that it would do better than 120K for a Roth.
Moreno has made clear, publicly and privately, his reservations about Ohtani’s trading.
He told The Post back in February that he was instead hoping he could extend it, and sources say he expressed his distaste for trading with Ohtani when his top brass brought him trade possibilities last July, emphatically and profanely.
Logic goes that last year was the perfect time to trade Ohtani, when the Angels were clearly out of it and could have offered the acquisition team two pennant runs with the uber-talent it has ever been.
But here’s more good news for Halos: Ohtani’s value, even as rent, will still be enormous.
He’s better this year, and if he stays in the AL he has a chance to break the single-season home run record of 62, set last year by Aaron Judge.
(Even if Otani were traded to a National League team, it’s hard to see him not win the AL MVP award. The question is whether he’ll have time to win both awards—though realistically, Ronald Acuna Jr. has given himself a good head start in the NL.)
Ohtani’s value goes beyond numbers.
The excitement it will bring is enormous.
Better yet, any acquired team will have a head start in trying to convince Ohtani to stay for the long haul.
(While the Angels treated him right, allowing him to do whatever he wanted, their inability to reach the playoffs all six years likely judged their chances whether they traded him or not.)
In this year full of surprises, almost anyone could be a candidate to take over Ohtani in the trade because he only makes $30 million, which is just a fraction of his real value.
But for our purposes, we’ll stick to teams that have a realistic hope of keeping him, as the two-month courtship period holds tremendous value.
Dodgers: Frazee compounded his mistake by trading Routh to the main competitor. Would Moreno agree to trade him 45 miles up I-5 to the mighty Dodgers? But they certainly have prospects, money and ambition.
Yankees: They were one of the most aggressively pursuing Ohtani last summer and have prospects that the Angels loved. It could also use a little insult.
Mets: GM Billy Eppler was the one who signed Otani for the Angels. But the Ohtani acquisition would cost them double because they’re already in Steve Cohen’s tax territory. Their big plan was to build for the long haul and their playoff chances look fairly long.
Giants: They certainly have aspirations of signing Ohtani long-term after failing to land a big fish last winter.
sailors: They were aggressive pursuers of Otani last time around and have potential capital.
Padres: They’re in the middle of everything, but their potential ranks have slipped since the Juan Soto deal.
Notice: A Clear World Series competitor can move to the favourite.
The speculation starts now.
