Last year was very easy. The world's most well-known players signed with mega-teams on the biggest contract of all time, with a strange twist that was mostly postponed.
Therefore, there was not much difficulty in the annual exercise when choosing the first shoe, the 50 most interesting people in baseball. But when Otani is about to hit back on the pitch this season, what do we do now?
And did Mookie Betts become a full-time shortstop? And what about Sasaki's highly publicized jump to MLB? And whether Clayton Kershaw will be back again? And does Andrew Friedman oversee the latest evil empire? And Dave Roberts hasn't been extended yet, but was asked to lead a 120 win and a championship or bust brigade? And did Korean star Heisen Kim join the band, just like Tanner Scott, Blake Snell and Kirby Yates? and …
Well, you get it. The All-Star Game feels like the Dodgers and everyone. It feels like it's this season – everyone is against the Dodgers. They were just willing to stand in the championship. Instead, they have gained more talent for what the sport's most talented roster is. They built salaries that included gorgeous tax penalties.
