OC Register: Miller: How much did Shohei Ohtani’s decision surprise the Angels? Even more than you think

[AngelsWin.com]

• Japanese fans show their support as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Owner Arte Moreno, Manager Mike Scioscia, Shohei Ohtani, General Manager Billy Eppler and President John Carpino pose for a photo after a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani smiles as he’s introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Japanese fans show their support as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani smiles during a press conference introducing him as the newest member of the Angels on Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani smiles as he answers questions as he’s introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Angels owner Arte Moreno bows and shakes hands with Shohei Ohtani as he’s introduced during a press conference on Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Owner Arte Moreno gives a thumbs up as Shohei Ohtani puts on his Angels’ jersey during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Owner Arte Moreno helps Shohei Ohtani with his Angels’ jersey as he’s introduced during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Japanese fans listen as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Young Japanese fans watch as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Fans listen as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• A fan welcomes Shohei Ohtani before he’s introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani, right, waits to be introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to reporters after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Japanese fans cheers as Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani laughs before being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• A young Japanese fan poses for a photo outside Angel Stadium after Shohei Ohtani was introduced by the Angels during a press conference in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to Fox Sports West after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to Fox Sports West after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani adjusts his hat as he heads for a tv interview after being introduced by the Angels at a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to reporters after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to reporters after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to reporters after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani talks to reporters after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference on Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani walks into Angel Stadium with Manager Mike Sciosia after being introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• Shohei Ohtani is introduced by the Angels during a press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Show Caption

of

Expand

ANAHEIM — The Angels practically knocked over the rest of baseball Friday when they stunningly won the race to sign Japanese two-way sensation and rock star-like royalty Shohei Ohtani.

Still, that wasn’t even the most dramatic reaction.

Because Ohtani’s potentially franchise-altering decision to join the Angels literally KO’d Billy Eppler, the team’s general manager ending up on the floor.

“I whiffed on the chair,” he explained Saturday, “and fell all the way to the ground.”

Related Articles

• Angels charmed Shohei Ohtani to win recruiting battle
• Angels welcome Shohei Ohtani, while only hinting at how the two-way dream will work
• Shohei Ohtani’s career in Japan: Inside the numbers
• For Japanese residents in Southern California, a palpable excitement about Ohtani’s decision to play for Angels
• Japanese media brace for Shohei Ohtani arrival with Angels after experiencing Ichiro madness
• O Joy: Ohtani, the Japanese Babe Ruth, agrees to sign with Angels
• Does Shohei Ohtani move help the Angels keep Mike Trout long term?

Eppler was standing when he took the call from Ohtani’s representatives, before quickly phoning Angels owner Arte Moreno with the good news of historic proportions.

Outside the office, on the other side of a closed door, several members of the Angels’ front office staff had gathered and begun cheering.

Soon enough, Eppler would be opening that door and walking into a hallway full of hugs and high-fives. The Angels as a franchise, in a way like never before, would be standing taller than all of baseball.

But, right now, Eppler was flat on his fanny, the chair rolling backward and crashing into a window, the scene such a spectacle that Eppler called it “a circus.”

Here was baseball’s suddenly most powerful executive, the man who had beaten out only everyone for the player only everyone wanted, powerless to stop himself from going – buns-first, no less – splat.

“I was just stunned,” Eppler said. “It was a pretty remarkable moment. … There’s so much adrenaline pumping. I didn’t even feel it.”

How’s that for the totally unexpected? The guy who won the high-stakes game of musical chairs – the Angels bettering six other finalists, including the Dodgers, for Ohtani’s talents – was the one with nowhere to sit.

Unexpected, though, defined this transaction, the Angels acquiring Ohtani sooner than anyone had anticipated and after every educated guess had him joining a team with a higher profile.

Instead, he was here Saturday, standing on a stage in front of his new home stadium, looking out at numerous handmade welcome signs, written in English and Japanese.

He heard the fans chant his name – “oh-TA-nee! oh-TA-nee!” – and noticed them wearing his jerseys, from both the Angels and his former team, the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Ohtani even felt the emotion of the crowd, cheers repeatedly interrupting the proceedings not unlike a political rally, at least one woman shouting her love for the newest Angel.

“When you know where you want to go, the choice comes a little quicker than you except,” Ohtani said. “I just felt it click, a natural feeling or emotion that this was the team. That was the biggest factor in my decision.”

He’s still only 23 and possesses the rare dual ability to reach triple figures with his fastball and 450 feet with his home runs.

At least for now, the Angels are committed to using him as both a pitcher and a designated hitter, Eppler confirming the club is “very open-minded” to employing a six-man rotation to afford Ohtani more rest.

That’s how serious the Angels are about this epic, international experiment, this return to a world last seen 100 years ago when Babe Ruth was starring as a pitcher and beginning to show signs of being a star hitter, too.

They’re willing to do something that runs contrary to American baseball tradition, advancing even farther the recent baseball-wide rethinking of how pitchers are used.

And, remember, this team is still being managed by old-school Mike Scioscia, who, just a couple years ago, was facing accusations of being resistant to analytics.

“Hopefully, I can perform at a high level,” Ohtani said, before noting how quickly the start of spring training will arrive. “I don’t have much time to be hanging around Disneyland.”

Yes, the young man has some personality. When asked why he chose jersey No. 17, Ohtani joked that he really wanted No. 27 but someone – wink, wink, Mike Trout – already had it.

Another reporter wondered which would be more meaningful to him, his first big-league victory or home run. Ohtani answered that he hoped to achieve both in the same game.

When someone questioned how much he could help the Angels reach another World Series, Ohtani explained that teams – and not individuals – win championships.

The Angels first met with Ohtani late Monday night. Afterward, Eppler received a call from Trout, who was at his offseason home on the East Coast, where, at the time, it was 1 a.m. He wanted to know what Ohtani is like.

“He’s like you,” Eppler said he told Trout. “He’s simple, humble and he wants to be great.”

And, also like Trout, when it came time to sign a contract, he wanted to be an Angel.

How big of deal is this? Eppler likened his feelings of pride to the day he was married and the occasion of his son being born. Yeah, that big.

After getting up off the floor Friday morning, Eppler greeted those waiting outside the door with the following message: “This is our time.”

It is the Angels’ time – Ohtani time – and Saturday was just the first tick of the clock.

View the full article

[TroutField]

This article got me pumped! Eppler is so likeable, and for the first time in a long time I feel confident in this organization. They are on the rise and like Eppy said, “It’s our time”

[Dave Saltzer]

Hey! I'm another reporter! 

[The_Outrunner]

It's about time the Angels received some praise