The Blue Jays once came very close to signing Shohei Ohtani! American media revealed the full details of the meeting on that day.

The MLB World Series is set between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way player, once had the opportunity to sign with the Blue Jays, and MLB Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson revealed the specifics of Ohtani’s meeting with the Blue Jays.

At that time, rumors circulated that the Blue Jays were close to signing Ohtani, and the meeting to engage with him was highly secretive. Blue Jays executives including General Manager Ross Atkins, Manager John Schneider, President Mark Shapiro, and Chairman Edward Rogers were all present at the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Florida, with only a handful of MLB players aware of the situation.

That day, the executives waited in a room overlooking the parking lot, anxiously watching for the black SUV carrying Ohtani to arrive. After touring the facility and team amenities, Ohtani’s final stop was the clubhouse. The team had prepared a personalized locker, jersey, and training gear for him, and even researched his preferred juices and coffee varieties.

Ohtani packed up all the items prepared for him to take along. When he returned to his vehicle, his dog Decoy was still wearing a Blue Jays custom Canadian jacket, a moment that gave the Blue Jays’ leadership a glimmer of hope for a successful signing.

However, on December 9th, just days later, Ohtani announced on social media that he was joining the Dodgers, breaking the hearts of the Blue Jays and fans across Canada. Now that the two teams are facing each other in the World Series, this story has once again captured fans’ attention.