SF Oracle Park, which Ohtani and Martinez hate

It was revealed why designated hitter J.D. Martinez rejected the San Francisco Giants' offer and signed with the New York Mets.

NBC Sports Bay Area reported on the 24th (Korea Standard Time) that Martinez said he signed with the Mets because of Oracle Park, his home stadium in San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants offered Martinez 15 million U.S. dollars for a year. However, Martinez rejected the offer and signed a contract with the Mets for 12 million dollars for a year. In other words, he is paid 3 million dollars less.

The reason is that Oracle Park is a pitcher-friendly stadium.

As Martinez pointed out, Oracle Park is like a "humble" for batters, especially left-handed ones. The distance to the pole on the right side is only 94 meters, but the fence is 7.4 meters. Since Barry Bonds in the 2004 season, there have been no left-handed hitters who have hit more than 30 home runs at Oracle Park.

Martinez is a right-handed hitter. Despite this, Oracle Park is also burdensome. Martinez hit 33 home runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

Shohei Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, is also reportedly not a big fan of Oracle Park.

San Francisco offered Ohtani a large sum but was rebuffed.

President Farhan Zaidi reportedly said, "The amount we offered to Ohtani was also $700 million, and the Dipper clause was included."

San Francisco Giants tried to recruit Aaron Judge, a home run batter, ahead of the 2023 season. However, Judge shook off a large amount of money San Francisco offered and renewed his contract with the Yankees.

As such, Major League home run hitters are reluctant to sign with San Francisco. It could be because of Oracle Park.

Since Lee is a batter who hits two or three times more than a home run, Oracle Park may have an advantage due to the nature of the stadium. This is one of the reasons why San Francisco signed a six-year, 113 million-dollar contract with Lee.

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