Blue Jays fans think Ohtani is on a private jet heading to Toronto
If you know any diehard Toronto Blue Jays fans, they might be spending a little time more than usual checking a flight tracking website or two today.
With the team one of the reported finalists for superstar free agent Shohei Ohtani, everyone’s clamouring for any tidbit they can get about the 29-year-old Japanese player. The only full-time player in the major leagues who plays as both a starting pitcher and a designated hitter, the two-time American League MVP’s free agency has been captivating Jays fans with a decision reportedly imminent.
The Blue Jays reportedly met with Ohtani earlier this week at their Dunedin, Florida, spring training and player development complex, though both Toronto manager John Schneider and general manager Ross Atkins wouldn’t divulge any details when pressed by the media earlier this week about the meeting.
But while the tight-lipped Ohtani hasn’t given us much to go on, that hasn’t stopped fans from pulling an old trick — checking the flight logs.
A pair of social media posts from @gzipman and @cdnpoli101 noticed a private flight departing from Anaheim to Toronto today at 9 am PT via online trackers Flightradar24 and FlightAware.
Private plane from John Wayne to yyz leaving tomorrow morning popped up a couple of hours ago. https://t.co/pkFNxIiJ4P. Probably not related but…
— G Zipman (@Gzipman) December 8, 2023
A private flight from Anaheim airport to Toronto has popped up on flight trackers departing at 9am PST.
I don’t want to go full Kawaii here but it isn’t common to see such a flight between those two airports. #Ohtani #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/Tc9VwtD54X
— JB | Polisci (@cdnpoli101) December 8, 2023
With Ohtani previously playing for the Anaheim-based Los Angeles Angels, there’s at least some possibility he could be on the plane.
The flight has ultimately been delayed for an estimated departure time of 9:45 am PT, putting it in Toronto between 4 and 5 pm ET.
The FAA notes the aircraft as a Bombardier plane, a Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Global 5000 model typically used for VIP transport. It is registered as owned by a “corporation,” with its recent trips showing five separate trips to Toronto since October and no other trips to Santa Ana.
the plane thing isn't anything. this is the flight history of that same plane — doesn't look like it's linked to sho or toronto. pic.twitter.com/rLkDlRhGHy
— 2020 doesn't count (@glenjaminc) December 8, 2023
Jays fans, of course, ran amok with the flight logs, regardless.
Newport Beach – where Shohei lives – is 13 minutes from the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, from where this plane is scheduled to take off. https://t.co/jnPAMw4xPw
— Tao of Stieb (@TaoofStieb) December 8, 2023
https://t.co/ltFsg6DYEP pic.twitter.com/p2sdnQPfjz
— Alex (@alexmercier58) December 8, 2023
Pilot friend dug up some info:
—plane is registered to a company that takes foreign-owned planes into trust for American use
—he thinks the plane looks YYZ-based, most photos of it online are from YYZ and YVR, would make sense if it’s Rogers-owned
—it was in Hawaii 4 days ago https://t.co/OGULGWj35M— John Cullen (@cullenthecomic) December 8, 2023
Many fans related the experience to the 2019 attempt (and ultimate failure) of the Toronto Raptors to re-sign Kawhi Leonard in the weeks following the franchise’s only NBA title to date. Leonard himself was quiet about the whole process, similar to Ohtani, with a CP24 helicopter infamously tracking a car on the Toronto highway that may or may not have had the 2019 Finals MVP inside.
If you’d like to check out the tracker yourself, you can do so here on Flightradar24 or here on FlightAware.com.
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