Japan’s Ohtani Gets $700 Million, Biggest Team Sports Deal

Japan’s Ohtani Gets $700 Million, Biggest Team Sports Deal

日本的大谷翔平获得7亿美元，创下团队体育最大合同记录

【原文听力】

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　　By Hai Do

　　11 December 2023

　　Everyone expected Japan's Shohei Ohtani to receive the biggest deal in baseball history. Over the weekend, the two-time Most Valuable Player award-winner received the biggest deal in team sports history.

　　On Saturday, the Japanese star announced that he had agreed to a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers valued at $700 million.

　　Olympics.com says the amount is higher than the $679 million for France's Kylian Mbappe with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, $674 million for Lionel Messi with Barcelona in 2017, and Cristiano Ronaldo's $500 million agreement with Al Nassr.

　　The total is also higher than the largest American football contract of $450 million given to Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. It far exceeds the baseball deals of $426.5 million given to Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and the $360 million given to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

　　Under the contract, Ohtani's average yearly salary of $70 million is well above the previous high of about $43 million that pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander struck with the New York Mets. His average yearly salary is also higher than the combined salary of all players with the Baltimore Orioles or the Oakland A's this year.

　　Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, called it "a unique, historic contract for a unique, historic player." Another sports agent, Leigh Steinberg said, "He's rocketed into a stratosphere all his own."

　　Is he worth it?

　　Ohtani started in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. He is the sport's best two-way player. He is one of the best hitters and also one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is the only player in baseball history to appear as both a pitcher and a hitter in the All-Star games in 2021 and 2023. He was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player twice in 2021 and 2023.

　　But the $700 million deal was more than most baseball fans imagined. And many wonder why the Dodgers made that kind of investment in one player.

　　Mike Lewis teaches marketing and sports business at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He said, "Baseball has sometimes struggled to gain national attention, but he's the kind of guy who attracts millions...and not just from the U.S."

　　Lewis compared the Dodgers' signing of Ohtani to Inter Miami's signing of Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer. Interest in American soccer, especially on social media, greatly increased around the U.S. and the world. As of Sunday morning, the Dodgers' Instagram account had 3.2 million followers. Ohtani on his own has 6.3 million.

　　No baseball player has received more interest internationally than Ohtani, especially in his native Japan. Japanese companies paid for top advertising spaces in Anaheim when Ohtani was playing with the Angels. His Angels uniform is the best-selling one among baseball players in 2023. Ohtani's uniform is expected to sell well, and many more Dodgers' tickets are expected to be sold, too.

　　When Ohtani was negotiating with different baseball teams for a new contract, fans were following his movements and posting information online. The interest was similar to the level around popular singer Taylor Swift.

　　Steinberg, the sports agent, believes every baseball team interested in Ohtani has already estimated how much money he would bring to the team. If the Dodgers were willing to pay $700 million to sign him, then Steinberg believes they made a good decision.

　　"He's handsome and he's a huge box office draw," Steinberg told the Associated Press. "There are very few players who can match that. He has appeal to all."

　　I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

　　Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press and other sources.

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　　作者：Hai Do，

　　2023年12月11日，

　　人们都预期日本的大谷翔平会得到棒球历史上最大的合同。在周末，这位两次最有价值球员奖得主得到了团队体育历史上最大的合同。

　　周六，这位日本明星宣布他已经同意与洛杉矶道奇队签订一份价值7亿美元的10年合同。

　　Olympics.com表示，这个金额高于法国的基利安·姆巴佩在2022年与巴黎圣日耳曼队的6.79亿美元，梅西在2017年与巴塞罗那队的6.74亿美元，以及克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多与Al Nassr的5亿美元协议。

　　总金额也超过了美式足球最大的合同——堪萨斯城酋长队的帕特里克·马霍梅斯获得的4.5亿美元。远超过洛杉矶天使队的迈克·特劳特获得的4.265亿美元和纽约洋基队的亚伦·裁判获得的3.6亿美元的棒球合同。

　　根据合同，大谷翔平的平均年薪为7000万美元，远高于纽约大都会队的投手马克斯·舍泽和贾斯汀·维兰德达成的约4300万美元的最高记录。他的平均年薪也高于今年巴尔的摩金莺队或奥克兰A队所有球员的总薪水。

　　大谷翔平的经纪人Nez Balelo称这是“一个独特的、历史性的合同，适合一个独特的、历史性的球员。”另一位体育经纪人Leigh Steinberg说：“他已经独步天下。”

　　他值得这个价吗？

　　大谷翔平于2018年在洛杉矶天使队开始他的美国职业棒球大联盟生涯。他是这项运动中最好的两栖球员。他是棒球界最好的击球手之一，也是最好的投手之一。他是棒球历史上唯一一位在2021年和2023年的全明星赛中既作为投手又作为击球手出场的球员。他在2021年和2023年两次被一致选为最有价值球员。

　　但是，700万美元的交易超出了大多数棒球迷的想象。许多人都在想，为什么道奇队要在一个球员身上做出这样的投资。

　　迈克·刘易斯在乔治亚州亚特兰大的埃默里大学教授营销和体育商业课程。他说：“棒球有时候很难引起全国的关注，但他是那种能吸引数百万人的人……而且不仅仅是来自美国的。”

　　刘易斯将道奇队签下大谷翔平与国际迈阿密队在美国职业足球大联盟签下梅西进行了比较。美国足球的关注度，尤其是在社交媒体上，在美国和全世界都大大提高。截至周日早上，道奇队的Instagram账号有320万粉丝。而大谷翔平本人有630万粉丝。

　　没有哪位棒球运动员比大谷翔平在国际上受到更多的关注，尤其是在他的祖国日本。当大谷翔平在天使队效力时，日本公司在安纳海姆购买了顶级广告位。他在天使队的球衣是2023年棒球运动员中销售最好的。预计大谷翔平的球衣会卖得很好，而且预计还会卖出更多的道奇队门票。

　　当大谷翔平在与不同的棒球队谈判新合同时，粉丝们都在关注他的动态，并在网上发布信息。这种关注度与流行歌手泰勒·斯威夫特的关注度相当。

　　体育经纪人斯坦伯格认为，每一个对大谷翔平感兴趣的棒球队都已经估算过他会为球队带来多少钱。如果道奇队愿意支付7亿美元签下他，那么斯坦伯格认为他们做出了一个好决定。

　　斯坦伯格对美联社说：“他很帅，他是一个巨大的票房吸引力。很少有球员能与他相匹敌。他对所有人都有吸引力。”

　　我是马里奥·里特尔，Jr。

　　Hai Do根据美联社和其他来源的报道，为美国之音学习英语改编了这篇报道。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　previous –adj. 发生在早些时候的；在现在之前的

　　salary –n.以货币形式的工资或薪水

　　unique –adj.与众不同的

　　stratosphere –n. 大气层的高层

　　pitcher –n. （棒球）向击球手投球的运动员：投手的动作开始了棒球的每一场比赛

　　uniform –n.由队伍穿着的制服，也销售给粉丝和公众

　　box office draw –expression (entertainment)一种受欢迎的表演者，许多人愿意付钱去看