Four days after landing the prize of the offseason, the Los Angeles Angels' general manager said Tuesday that his club found "connectivity" with slugging pitcher Shohei Ohtani through a player-oriented approach.
"Interestingly enough, our (recruitment) process was our talking about our process, and giving him the best sense of what life would be like if he were to join our organization," Billy Eppler told Kyodo News at the annual baseball winter meetings.
"We really tried to take the approach of letting him understand a look at the Angels through the eyes of one of our players. That's the angle we took, letting him know exactly what would be put on his plate in all aspects, whether that's on the field, in the clubhouse, in the weight room, whether that's at home. We tried to show him the connectivity between (aspects) of that world that he will now embark on full time."