The Shohei Ohtani free agency tour is the biggest story in baseball, but Chris “Mad Dog” Russo isn’t a fan of the secrecy that has come along with it.
Russo expressed his displeasure with the whole thing during Wednesday’s episode of “First Take” on ESPN, decrying how guarded the information has been about the teams Ohtani has met with.
And on several occasions, he said that any team that gives Ohtani $600 million “needs their heads examined.”
“The fact that we’re even discussing this is a complete joke,” Russo said. “He’s not going to pitch next year. He’s a DH and tell me this with Ohtani, how many times were the Angels in the pennant race in the middle of September? They won 75 games last year he missed the last 25 games.”
The roughly two-minute rant by “Mad Dog” had Stephen A. Smith rolling his eyes at times, seemingly over the odd nature of the comments.
Ohtani is baseball’s biggest star and is a generational talent who has won two AL MVP awards, including this past season.
Despite having to miss the end of the year due to injury, Ohtani led the American League with 44 home runs while slashing .304/.412/.654 in 599 plate appearances.
The two-way threat dominated on the mound as well, going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and striking out 167 batters.
However, that didn’t seem to stop Russo from criticizing him.
Chris Russo’s Shohei Ohtani rant didn’t convince Stephen A. Smith much. ESPN
“And what is the big secret? Geez he’s a free agent,” Russo continued. “He’s talked to six teams. … What is this the atomic bomb? We’re not allowed to find out? This is baseball. He’s a celebrity. This is what it’s about. This is stupid that somehow, someway if you reveal you had a breakfast with Ohtani you should basically be thrown out with the bathwater.”
The former WFAN star was referring to a situation that occurred on Tuesday when Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed during his media session that they had met with Ohtani.
Reports indicated that his comments may have caused an issue, and general manager Brandon Gomes was a bit more hush-hush when he spoke to reporters.
Russo can’t believe a team would give Ohtani $600 million. APGomes did acknowledge that Roberts “made a comment” and replied, “I have no idea” when The Post’s Joel Sherman asked if the manager’s comments hurt the Dodgers’ pursuit of Ohtani.
“This Ohtani thing is the biggest waste of time I’ve ever seen in my life,” Russo said. “If you go spend $600 million for this guy, you need your head examined. He has never played a big game in September and the Angels stink. One player doesn’t win.
“The idea that we have to treat this as the peace talks in Tehran in World War II is ridiculous! When Stalin and Roosevelt and Churchill got together. It drives me absolutely crazy!”
Ohtani is known as an incredibly private person, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan previously reported that the superstar’s agent had warned teams that talks would be kept out of the media spotlight.
That’s led to very little news trickling out about one of baseball’s biggest offseason stories.
