TORONTO - John Schneider joked that Shohei Ohtani owes the Blue Jays a hat.

Toronto courted the dual-threat superstar during free agency in December 2023, including a secret meeting at the club's spring training facility where he grabbed some memorabilia on his way out the door, before ultimately signing a 10-year, US$700-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I hope he brought it back finally — and the jacket for Decoy (Ohtani's dog)," Schneider said with a grin Thursday. "It's like, give us our stuff back already."

Ohtani probably didn't pack the swag he was handed some 20 months ago for this trip north of the border. The Japanese sporting icon did, however, bring the usual hype train.

And the accompanying media horde that follows him around the continent each baseball seaso

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