{"id":89825,"date":"2023-12-13T13:56:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=89825"},"modified":"2024-09-01T09:54:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T13:54:26","slug":"opinion-ryan-clutterbuck-and-michael-van-bussel-discuss-the-shohei-ohtani-sweepstakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2023\/12\/opinion-ryan-clutterbuck-and-michael-van-bussel-discuss-the-shohei-ohtani-sweepstakes\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Ryan Clutterbuck and Michael Van Bussel discuss the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article written by Ryan Clutterbuck and Michael Van Bussel, Assistant Professors of Sport Management at Brock University, originally appeared in The Conversation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This past weekend, Toronto Blue Jays fans experienced a roller coaster of emotions when it seemed like Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani was going to sign with Toronto,\u00a0only to be heartbroken\u00a0after he signed a US$700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays wanted Ohtani for a number of reasons. Ohtani is a rare breed in baseball \u2014 not only is he one of the best pitchers in MLB,\u00a0with an ERA of 3.14 in 2023, but he\u2019s also a prolific hitter. His unique skill set has\u00a0drawn comparisons with baseball legend Babe Ruth.<\/p>\n

His global fan base also translates into economic benefits for any team he plays for. According to a study by a Japanese economist, Ohtani\u2019s broad economic impact in 2022 when he played for the Los Angeles Angels\u00a0was around US$337 million.<\/p>\n

Now that the dust has settled, Blue Jays fans and analysts alike must reflect on the lessons learned from this situation.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let price bulldoze other interests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blue Jays fans could be forgiven for thinking that when Blue Jays\u2019 owner Rogers entered into meaningful negotiations with Ohtani it was just a matter of time.\u00a0According to a number of sources close to the negotiation, the Blue Jays\u2019 best offer was similar to the one offered by the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0as Harvard Business School professor, James K. Sebenius argues, a common error in negotiations is thinking that price is the most important, or only, issue to be resolved.<\/p>\n

In the case of Ohtani, the US$700 million price tag was clearly a factor in his decision. But now it seems obvious that other interests, including club location and the competitiveness of the team were also important considerations.<\/p>\n

The best alternative to a negotiated agreement<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may not be much consolation, but the Blue Jays were merely one of 29 losers in the Ohtani sweepstakes. Arguably,\u00a0the L.A. Angels organization and their fans, having just lost Ohtani to the rival L.A. Dodgers are as \u2014 or, perhaps more \u2014\u00a0heartbroken this week\u00a0than the Jays are.<\/p>\n

The lesson for the Angels fans is to understand\u00a0the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) concept. In short, the BATNA is whatever course of action either side of a negotiation will take in the event that no deal is reached between them.<\/p>\n

For example, if you were to enter into a salary negotiation with your current employer with a job offer from a rival company in hand, your BATNA \u2014 in the event your salary negotiation is unsuccessful \u2014 is to take the rival company\u2019s offer.<\/p>\n

In the Ohtani sweepstakes, the\u00a0L.A. Angels appear to have underestimated Ohtani\u2019s BATNA, perhaps believing their positive relationship, West Coast location and willingness to spend whatever it took to make the playoffs in 2023 would be enough.<\/p>\n

Interests versus positions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 and L.A. Angels\u2019 willingness to spend whatever it took didn\u2019t matter. Not because the Dodgers were willing to spend more, but because whatever the compensation figure ultimately was, it would only be acceptable to Ohtani if it satisfied his interests.<\/p>\n

It can be challenging to distinguish between interests and positions when so much money is involved in a signing such as this. In short, interests are the underlying motivations that inform positions, while positions are specific demands.<\/p>\n

For example, you might ask for $100,000 at your next salary negotiation \u2014 that is a position (or, in other words, a specific demand). An example of an interest might be the flexibility the position affords, which may be more enticing than a job that doesn\u2019t meet those interests.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays and L.A. Angels seem to have misinterpreted Ohtani\u2019s interests and proceeded as if compensation would be enough.<\/p>\n

In reality, it appears Ohtani\u2019s interests (based on the contract and its deferred payment structure) were mostly based on sustained excellence and anticipated success over these next 10 years. Ohtani immediately bolsters an already competitive team and has offered the Dodgers an opportunity to become even more competitive by virtue of his deferred compensation.<\/p>\n

Failing to correct skewed vision<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Toronto Blue Jays and L.A. Angels seem to have fallen into the common trap of believing their own narrative while negotiating.<\/p>\n

The L.A. Angels believed Ohtani would re-sign with them because he valued familiarity, the relationship with the team and the West Coast location.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Blue Jays believed he would sign with them\u00a0because of the unique marketing potential being with Canada\u2019s team and the compensation only Rogers could offer, in part because Rogers\u2019 NHL rights were coming to an end.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible some of those factors did come into play, and that the Blue Jays and Angels executives and fans were not completely wrong to think they had a chance. But clearly, they thought what they had to offer would be enough. It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

There will be ramifications from the Blue Jays\u2019 pursuit of Ohtani. Fans\u2019 expectations will be raised if and when future free agents become available on the open market \u2014 notably,\u00a0Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette\u00a0who will become free agents in 2025.<\/p>\n

As we get closer to their pending free agency and negotiations, the Blue Jays would be well served to understand those players\u2019 interests and make sure they can meet them in full \u2014 or, risk losing out again.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ryan Clutterbuck and Michael Van Bussel, Assistant Professors of Sport Management at Brock University, wrote a piece recently published in The Conversation about what the Toronto Blue Jays can learn from the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,7,6],"tags":[4753,10138,7654,57,5512,349],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89827,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89825\/revisions\/89827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}