Shohei is the best player I've ever seen; but he was that when he played for the Angels and no one seemed to care--it just took the Dodgers to market him properly. Under the old ownership, you didn't need tix to Chavez Ravine. You just showed up, and it's the only stadium I've ever been in where fans entering pass those who are leaving--once a routine sight in the 5th inning. Even when LAD was winning, the phrase "It's only the Dodgers ..." is one I heard all the time. Now they're averaging nearly 50,000 a game, or about the same number as the Angels did in an entire season (well, I exaggerate slightly). I imagine there was someone in the LAD brain-trust arguing: pay that guy the highest amount you can without bankrupting us, as the higher the number is, the more fans will come out to watch him.