Wearing a Dodger uniform for the first time, Shohei Ohtani offered a few details about his decision to join Los Angeles — while steering clear of answers on a few other topics — in his first public comments since August.

The two-time MVP, who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract to move from Anaheim to L.A., said he made his decision on Friday night before announcing it via Instagram on Saturday. His news conference Thursday touched on a number of subjects:

The decision: Ohtani said a number of factors came into play, but the Dodgers’ pitch stuck out. The Dodgers brass told him they viewed the past decade — in which the club has won the National League West 10 out of 11 years, reached the World Series three times and won it all in 2020 — as a failure. It appealed to Ohtani, who didn’t appear in a playoff game with the Angels.

The contract structure: Ohtani deferred an unprecedented amount of money — $680 of the $700 million in his contract — to the years 2034-43, after his contract ends. He said he offered to “defer as much money as I can” so the Dodgers would not be hamstrung by the competitive balance tax.

His surgery: Here, Ohtani demurred. He shrugged off a question about whether he underwent a second Tommy John surgery, claiming he didn’t know what the procedure was, but that it was “completely different from the first time.” Ohtani, who won’t pitch in 2024, did say he expected to be ready as a hitter for spring training.

The other offers: Asked in a couple of different ways, Ohtani did not get into the other teams he considered. He praised the teams he met with — a group believed to include the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays — but did not name them. He did thank the Angels, calling his six seasons in Anaheim a “fun ride.”

And … the dog: Most importantly, Ohtani did reveal the name of his dog, the subject of much fascination in recent weeks: Dekopin, or Decoy. Dekopin is a Japanese word that means to flick one's forehead.

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