The news came hours after one X (formally Twitter) user pointed to flight logs showing a private jet that was scheduled to fly from Anaheim, the city where Ohtani has spent his entire MLB career with the Angels, to Toronto.
That flight was scheduled to land in Toronto just after 4:30 p.m. and it remains unclear whether it is in any way connected to Ohtani.
However, as of 2:30 p.m., more than 3,000 people were tracking its progress via FlightRadar24, making it the most-watched plane in the world at the time.
Meanwhile, other fans took to social media on Friday to discuss what signing Ohtani might mean to the Blue Jays and their World Series chances.
Others shared gambling odds which have the Blue Jays among the favourites to sign Ohtani, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In an interview with CTV News Toronto on Friday afternoon, Toronto Metropolitan University Sports Marketing Professor Cheri Bradish said that whoever ends up with Ohtani will have some really unique opportunities given his global following.
“Given his significance, he’d have a really powerful impact in the community where he plays, allowing that team to really speak to some unique demographics,” Bradish said.
“Look at [Lionel] Messi going to Inter Miami, Kawhi (Leonard) to Toronto. In terms of the celebrity factor and bringing in awareness both locally and globally [..] the value of those teams just grew.”
Ohtani is expected to command a contract of in excess of $500 million (U.S.), according to several media reports.
It would be the biggest contract in baseball history, surpassing the $426.5 million, 12-year deal signed by his Angels teammate Mike Trout.
But Bradish said that there will be a “real economic impact of bringing in a franchise player with a global appeal” like Ohtani.
“The economics of sport is really dictated by the market,” she said.
There is still no known timeline for when Ohtani’s decision will be announced. Members of the Blue Jays front office have previously refused to even say whether they have met with Ohtani, though Manager John Schneider told TSN earlier this week that tit was exciting for the Jays to be “in the mix for it.”
“There are a lot of different ways to make our team better and he’s obviously a great player,” he said.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
BRUSSELS – Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton rebounded from a disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics by capturing Diamond League gold on Friday.
Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., won the competition, the final Diamond League event of the season, with a heave of 20.25 metres on her third throw.
Chase Jackson of the U.S. placed second with a throw of 19.90, while German’s Yemisi Ogunleye, the Olympic gold medallist, claimed bronze with a toss of 19.72.
Mitton, the runner-up of last year’s world championship, failed to qualify for the top eight in Paris.
Edmonton runner Marco Arop, who won silver for Canada in the men’s 800 metres at the Paris Games, was scheduled to race in the 800 on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-medallist Alysha Newman, of London, Ont., also competes Saturday in the women’s pole vault.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
