Top Analyst Criticizes Shohei Ohtani’s Media Absence Habit, Urges Other Stars to Take Action

Frustrations regarding Shohei Ohtani’s habit of ignoring the media aren’t ending. Instead, they might be growing louder than ever. Top ESPN analyst Michael Kay has already once shown his anger at Ohtani’s habit. However, it seems those feelings haven’t subsided yet. But this time Kay hasn’t just made some scathing remarks of Ohtani but has also urged other big stars to do what Ohtani does.

Shohei Ohtani’s private ways don’t surprise anyone. The superstar rarely gives interviews and it’s even rarer for him to take up open questions. Until he was in the Los Angeles Angels this habit of his wasn’t questioned. However, the $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers has brought a whole new level of media interest. His continued silence during this time has frustrated some of the biggest reporters.

However, the key issue is that barring his official statement, Ohtani remained silent on Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling situation. The 2x MVP didn’t even take up questions on this matter. That has rubbed Michael Kay in the wrong manner who unleashed a huge tirade on Ohtani on his podcast. 

“Every big player in baseball – Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna Jr., Mike Trout – every one of them should say ‘we’re not talking to the media.’ Then we’ll see if major league baseball steps up and goes ‘Well, it’s part of people’s contract, you have to talk.” Then why isn’t it being enforced on Ohtani?” Kay said.  

Kay shared that when talking to the media the players are “in essence,” talking to the fans. Ohtani’s refusal to engage consistently isn’t good for the game. While Kay’s anger is understandable, comments like this have become common in recent days.

Shohei Ohtani’s silence starts getting questioned 

Earlier Michael Kay had also said that had it been anyone other than Ohtani, the media would have drilled them. He questioned that the alleged free pass that Shohei Ohtani gets is a borderline shocking phenomenon. While Kay’s podcast aired a few days ago, since then Ohtani might have given even more ammo to the analyst. 

After Ippei Mizuhara’s surrender, Ohtani came up to the press to express his gratitude to the investigation team. The superstar then declared he now wants to focus on baseball. However, unsurprisingly Ohtani didn’t take more questions on the matter during this media scramble. Whether this is disinterest or some legal need isn’t known but one thing is quite clear. 

The continued silence of baseball’s biggest star is starting to hurt many ears. One wonders whether the situation will remain the same or whether Shotime will begin to open up more.