It didn’t take long for Shohei Ohtani to become a villain in the Bronx.
Ohtani, the two-way Japanese phenom making his jump to Major League Baseball this offseason, reportedly has narrowed his free agency list to seven teams, and the New York Yankees aren’t among them. This development didn’t sit well with some news outlets, including the New York Daily News, which labeled Ohtani a “chicken” for not considering signing with the Yankees.
STAGE FRIGHT: Shohei Otani too scared to play for the @Yankees…
An early look at Monday's front page https://t.co/BFmiNlWlSh pic.twitter.com/3BqOTFTf6j
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 4, 2017
Ohtani’s list favors West Coast teams and small market clubs, which would explain the Yankees’ exclusion. In fact, none of the teams on Ohtani’s reported list reside in the American League East, so at least the Yankees will be able to avoid playing in the same division as the 23-year-old, which could be important if he ends up being as good as advertised.
