'Come to Seattle!': Mariners fans pitch Ohtani during ASG

SEATTLE -- The Mariners can’t formally make a pitch to Shohei Ohtani to join their organization until baseball’s best player becomes a free agent after the season. But there are no rules precluding their fans from making a bold invitation to the Angels' two-way superstar.

Most of the sellout crowd at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday for the NL's 3-2 win over the AL in the All-Star Game began roaring when Ohtani stepped to the plate, and they made their voices heard so loudly that their chorus overtook the FOX broadcast.

“Come to Se-at-tle!” the crowd roared in a moment that was as organic as it was surreal.

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The chant was repeated nearly a dozen times during Ohtani’s at-bat before he struck out on six pitches against the D-backs' Zac Gallen. They also chanted during Ohtani’s second plate appearance in the fourth, when he walked.

How did he take it all in?

"I’ve never experienced anything like that, but I definitely heard it,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. “I was just trying to focus on my at-bat and the game. ... Every time I come here the fans are passionate, they're really into the game. So it's very impressive."

Even Gallen had to zero in amidst the raucous environment.

“He had the crowd, a standing ovation, the place is going nuts and I'm like, ‘Man, if I serve a homer to this guy, the place is going to erupt,’” Gallen said.

Ohtani’s future -- and even more so, the speculation surrounding it -- has been one of baseball’s biggest storylines in 2023, headlining a 45-minute session with reporters at All-Star Media Day on Monday. During those interviews, Ohtani revealed that he’s spent extended time in the Pacific Northwest away from baseball.

“I’ve actually spent about two offseasons in Seattle, a total of four months maybe,” Ohtani said Monday. “And I felt like it’s a very nice city. I really liked it.”

The Mariners have been criticized for not spending more in free agency -- particularly last offseason, when there was a star-studded class of shortstops that, on paper, looked like strong fits. Yet, sources have suggested that since as early as last summer, the Mariners have been allocating their budget to prepare for an aggressive push when Ohtani reaches free agency.

Julio Rodríguez, who will be the face of the Mariners for the next decade-plus, said that he chatted with Ohtani multiple times this week, but not about free agency -- which MLB tampering rules would preclude him from doing. Rodríguez added that he was impressed by his home crowd’s efforts on Tuesday.

“Nothing specific about him coming to Seattle, just asked him a couple questions,” Rodríguez said. “But that was cool. I mean, that was a pretty interesting thing to see how the whole city can, whenever they combine themselves, they can do something pretty amazing. I thought that was pretty cool.”

It was the talk of the event, even for players who have no rooting interest in where Ohtani signs, such as Oakland All-Star Brent Rooker.

“It's got to be a pretty cool feeling to know that 45,000 people want you to come to their city. ... That was a really cool moment,” Rooker said. “It was another one of those times where the fan base is showing their passion for their team, which is what makes our sport and sports in general special.”

The list of suitors for Ohtani could be as high as all 30 teams, but particularly among high-spending clubs like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Giants and more. The Mariners’ 2023 payroll is near $136 million, which ranks 18th, per Spotrac. That number dips to, by estimates from Cots' Baseball Contracts, $106 million in 2024, $96 million in ‘25, $83 million in ‘26 and $44 million in ‘27.

It’s believed that Ohtani will net the richest contract in MLB history, potentially north of $500 million.

“It doesn’t really matter to him if it’s a big or smaller market,” Mizuhara said, interpreting Ohtani’s response. “The Angels fans come to watch the Angels because they love the team and he wants to perform the best for them and, like he said, there is stuff that he can control and that he can’t control, and whatever he can control, he wants to do his best at it.”

Seattle was believed to be the runner-up to the Angels when Ohtani first came to MLB ahead of 2018, and the Mariners' front office is still overseen by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who spearheaded the club’s aggressive pitch.

The Mariners cleared the most international signing money of any club and said they’d allow Ohtani to operate under the two-way constraints he’d prefer, something the Angels did not grant in Ohtani’s rookie year, specifically by not DH’ing him on days before or after starts. That’s since changed, as he’s played in 89 of their 91 games this year.

It’s believed that Ohtani had some concern about signing with Seattle in December 2017 based on the legacy left here by Ichiro Suzuki and wanting to carve out his own path, according to sources. But after establishing himself as, if not the greatest, certainly the most unique player of all time, that shadow wouldn’t loom, at least not as large. Ohtani and Suzuki have a positive relationship and meet up when the Angels visit Seattle.

Despite Ohtani’s measured answers to questions about his future, the 29-year-old has consistently said that winning is the most paramount priority.

“Those feelings get stronger year by year,” Ohtani said through Mizuhara. “It sucks to lose. He wants to win. So that gets stronger every year.”

All signs point to the Mariners being in the Ohtani sweepstakes when they manifest this offseason. And on Tuesday, their fans made a strong marketing pitch on baseball’s biggest stage.