Is two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, widely considered the most sought-after free agent in MLB history, on a plane to Toronto?
That question captivated the baseball world Friday afternoon, as a free-agency process as secretive as it is spellbinding took another turn. Fans were left to judge one insider's word against another after two contradictory reports.
At 4:01 p.m. ET, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted that Ohtani was en route to Toronto. Just over one hour later, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Ohtani was not in Toronto, on a flight to Toronto or anywhere other than his California home.
Sources: Shohei Ohtani is en route to Toronto today.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 8, 2023
A representative of his agency, CAA, would not comment when asked about Ohtani’s travel plans.
At this hour, Ohtani does not have a signed agreement with any @MLB team. @MLBNetwork
Shohei Ohtani is NOT in Toronto.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 8, 2023
Ohtani is NOT on a flight to Toronto.
Ohtani is at home in Southern California.
Since the advent of scoop journalism on social media, few standoffs have been as concrete or compelling as this one.
MLB fans weighed in:
my feet are sweating i swear to god pls dont let us get hurt https://t.co/zgNrZGrIbi
— Jordan Cicchelli 🤍 (@jordancicchelli) December 8, 2023
Telling my dad to go pick him up as we speak. https://t.co/INx8YccpBT
— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) December 8, 2023
You are thrown in the gulag if you're wrong https://t.co/nYWSG4Z4yl
— KevinGohD (@KevinGohD) December 8, 2023
the shohei free agency circus this week https://t.co/7ahiBqsaNU pic.twitter.com/NWWUQSg0we
— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) December 8, 2023
Cuban is beside himself. Driving around downtown Dallas begging (thru texts) Ohtani's family for address to Shohei's home https://t.co/rbNY4uzW3Z
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 8, 2023
My hopes and dreams: https://t.co/9iEPwJnMWE pic.twitter.com/43NoaavRKd
— cole kuiper (@cmkuiper) December 8, 2023
We can confirm that Shohei Ohtani is not in the Merriam-Webster Citation Archives. pic.twitter.com/1o65CgsT9G
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 8, 2023
“hey mom tell us about twitter during ohtani watch” pic.twitter.com/mMrZGJTCm9
— maha 🍉 (@mahaaaay) December 8, 2023
The Shohei Ohtani misinformation going around has made this a day for the books. pic.twitter.com/JupCsHEdwq
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) December 8, 2023
Oscar Ohtani is getting off that plane, and frankly he's cooler than Shohei pic.twitter.com/1ufKPAyH3r
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) December 8, 2023
