The “extraordinary toughness” of the strongest “hard-arm agent” in the Majors who won a “contract exceeding Shohei Ohtani’s”.

On a year-to-year basis, Otani is the better player. ……

Last season, Shohei Ohtani (30) hit .310 with 54 home runs, 130 runs batted in, an OPS of 1.036, and 59 stolen bases, going 50-50 in home runs and stolen bases. As a hitter, he had an unparalleled record. He also won the World Series with the Yankees and was a contributor to that success. His performance was worthy of, or even more than worthy of, the record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract he signed with the Dodgers, and it was almost too good to be true.

But last December, the news rattled Ohtani fans. The contract signed by Yankees FA outfielder Juan Soto (26) with the Mets was a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million (¥118 billion) deal. Fans who had been so proud of Ohtani must have felt a bit disconcerted.

Our reporter, who agrees with these sentiments, asked Nachi Tomonari, a sportswriter with extensive knowledge of the Major Leagues, about the situation. Soto has done well, but I don’t think his contract is better than Otani’s. ……

First of all, Soto’s contract is for 15 years, so if you divide it by the number of years he’s under contract, Otani’s contract is more expensive, and Soto is not necessarily a better player than Otani. Soto’s contract is somewhat excessive.

The WAR metric is used to measure a player’s ability, and Ohtani had a 10.1 WAR in the ’23 season before signing with the Dodgers, while Soto’s 7.9 WAR in ’24 is a great number, but not as good as Ohtani’s. I owe that contract to my terrific agent, Scott Boras (72). If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten that contract.”

In 2024, Ohtani played DH and had no defensive opportunities, so his WAR was not as good as Soto’s, but he still outperformed him with 9.2.

What kind of person is Scott Boras, the agent who helped Soto get a contract that exceeded Otani’s?