Jays gave Ohtani sweepstakes best shot
GM Atkins proud of his team’s effort, saying the Blue Jays did everything they were asked to do by Japanese star, and then some, in trying to lure him
Who knows what the legendary Toronto Star columnist Jim Proudfoot would have thought of the influx of Japanese players in Major League Baseball, but whatever his opinion, it would be presented eloquently and without equal.
The Proudfoot Corner, part of the Toronto Star’s Santa Claus Fund, has continued another successful holiday season of helping others, now at well over $1 million through the years.
At the time of Proudfoot’s passing in the spring of 2001, there had been a total of 10 Japanese-born major-leaguers, led by right-hander Masanori Murakami debuting with the Giants in 1964, then a 31-year hiatus until right-hander Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995.
Just days after Proudfoot passed away, future hall-of-fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki played his first game for the Mariners and the floodgates opened — relatively speaking. The latest, pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani, who on Friday chose the Los Angeles Angels from a short list of seven teams, will become the 56th Japanese player in major-league history. The decision followed face-to-face interviews with sweet seven earlier this week.
There are cynics that suggest the Jays were never really serious about wooing this year’s free-agent prize, but after general manager Ross Atkins joined the Toronto chapter of the baseball writers at their annual meeting on Wednesday, it’s hard to doubt their sincerity in terms of adding this premier talent.
Maybe Atkins and the Jays never had a chance, but they put in the work and truly believed they could be in the mix, which bodes well for their stated goal to build and improve and be a contender in 2018.
The Jays and 23 other teams were politely rejected late last week. Atkins believes his team did everything it could.
“We got the phone call that our presentation was extremely inspiring, one of the first, if not the first they’d received, creative,” Atkins said. “They were telling us they felt strongly about how we were presenting ourselves.
“I also, stepping back from it, feel this is such a remarkable city and remarkable opportunity in professional sports that it would be attractive to a player, especially coming from an international market. So yes I did, I did feel like we certainly belonged in the top third.”
In an unprecedented move by a free agent, it was the player who aggressively pursued the teams, sending out a questionnaire. Among the details Ohtani sought: the team’s scouting report on Ohtani; a description of their training facilities, farm system and philosophy about winning; how Ohtani would be assimilated into the organization; the desirability of the city and franchise, and marketplace characteristics.
“Basically we did everything they asked us to do,” Atkins said. “But before we received that we anticipated what they would want and did much more than what they had asked us to do . . . I think Dan Evans was the boots on the ground in helping us anticipate, thinking creatively. He had a history with (Ohtani). He was helping us stay ahead of the curve. Ryan Mittleman, David Haynes, Joe Sheehan, Andrew Tinnish were all thinking about this pretty much around the clock for about a month. There were many others.” ON THE CORNER: Pride of place goes to Corner regular Tom Perta, whose donation of $50 we weren’t able to acknowledge in time last year. Tom’s donation comes in memory of Adeline and Patsy.
A few perennial givers back on the Corner this round are group efforts. Norah Schraivogel of Toronto and her teacher pals passed the hat around at their annual party and came up with $950, which is surely a club record. From the other side of the media landscape, Glenn Powell and his staunch CBC National Radio Newsroom Ol’ Farts collective kicked in another $385 yield from their yuletide luncheon. Sharing that august moniker is another group we see around here every year, the Old Farts Poker Club of Scarborough. Those reliable card sharks dealt us $415 in memory of their deceased buddies Bruce Milne, Carl (Buck) McConnachie, Ron Sabourin, Len Hall and Vern Sabourin.
Turning it over to the Star family, we have former sports reporting titan Rick Matsumoto and wife Lorraine chequing in with $200 and a Merry Christmas shoutout to his former colleagues in the sports section. Higher up the family tree is daughter Robyn Matsumotoof Toronto, who continues to honour the tradition this year with her $200. Still another $200 and glad tidings arrived from former Star editor Richard Haliechuk. David Aziz of Brantford, a 28-year Star veteran, committed an impressive $560 to the cause. Many of those years were spent at the paper’s former 80 King Street location, which was replaced in the ’70s by Canada’s tallest skyscraper, First Canadian Place, when the Star moved down to Yonge and Queen’s Quay. Susan Ware, who also worked for the Star around that time as a tour guide and was an acquaintance of Jim Proudfoot, stepped back on to the Corner this year with $150 in memory of Susan Robb as well as her parents George and Eleanor Seto. Another regular and Star alum in David Dunn of Toronto came through again with $100 for the kids. Not to be forgotten is former sports editor Phil Bingley, who got his hands inky alongside Proudfoot and Star legend Milt Dunnell, and kicks in $200 in this year’s edition. And rounding out the Star contingent and in shouting distance on the sports side of things is team editor Rob Grant, who contributes $150 in memory of Eric Grant. David McCarthy and Kathleen Murphy of North York sent us a sizeable $500 in memory of “Fast” Eddie Murphy, who received a Santa Claus Fund box as a child and never forgot. They also want to extend a special thank you to the extra charitable Mort Greenberg, who makes the rounds every year and forwards the proceeds to the Corner. Another big $500 came in from Toronto’s Ian MacDonnell as well as Etobicoke’s Worden Teasdale, who sends it in memory of daughter, sister, and intrepid race car driver Kathryn Teasdale, who passed away just over a year ago. Fellow Etobian Vanessa Bratty sent another $400, and from nearby Mississauga Brian Deegan sent $333, and Brian McGarry added $250. $300 more came from Toronto’s Steve Lancaster as well as Corner regular John P. Newediuk of Newediuk Funeral Home. Writes John in his note: “Jim ‘Chester’ Proudfoot is looking down on us knowing that many children will awake on Christmas morning with smiles on their faces.”
With $200 each for the Fund are Toronto’s Tom Cloutier, Pat Crowe, Richard Booth, Janet Garden in memory of Hans Gerschwiler, and Randy Goldman in memory of parents Phyllis and Sol. The Toronto Pain and Headache Clinic’s contribution of $200 will be a welcome salve to the city’s underprivileged children, as is Diarmuid Thornbury’s $200 from Mississauga and Paul and Pat Sloggett’s from Scarborough. Another $200 from Aurora’s Paul Berry flew in again in memory of friend Laurie Buckland, former CPGA golf professional at Wooden Sticks Golf Course. And returning once again are Oshawa’s Alan and Eleanor Cawkerwith $10 on behalf of each of their 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, totaling $220.
Returning with $150 each from Toronto are Gail McBean, Sue Yuen, Don Vickery and Brent Cotter. Nadia Vicente of Mississauga also matched that sum, and with $125 from Guelph, it’s Bill Swann’sway to help the kids out on Christmas. Enjoying the constellations in Bobcaygeon are the Spittel Family, who remember “one-of-a-kind” NHL coaching colossus Roger Neilson with their $100 donation. With another $100 is Barry Landon of Toronto in memory of Graydon Campbell, who was best friends with Barry’s brother and left us just recently. C-notes also came from Lary Kreutzwiser of Oakville, Susan Shiomi of York, Dorothy Parker of Thornhill, Ken Opper of Campbellville, and Mike Buchanan of Newmarket. Marco Studer of Markham returned with $100, as did Gary McCombs, Roy Chapman, Karen Riehm, Jeffrey Walters, John Gelmon, William Rankin, and Bill Howes, all from Toronto. $75 came from Scarberian Jim Eliopoulos in memory of generous spirit Jake Eliopoulos and $60 landed from Larry Green of Toronto. Hogtowners contributed lots of fifties, with A. Sweetman, Elisabeth Stewart, Robin Rogers and Victor Doyle all tossing that amount into the pot. Minor hockey referee Mike Duggan sent the same with a call-to-alms to his fellow zebras to donate a game fee to “this very worthy cause.” More fifties: Lindsay Armstrong of Pickering, Larry MacNeill of Guelph, Ralph Beslin of Aliston, Ed Ludlow of Whitby, and Leslie Baker and Shelagh Leitch, both of Oakville.