shohei ohtani

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 a.m. PT via online trackers Flightradar24 and FlightAware.

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 a.m. PT, putting it in Toronto between 4 and 5 p.m. 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.

Jays fans, of course, ran amok with the flight logs, regardless.

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 a 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 on Flightradar24 or FlightAware.com.

Lead photo by

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports


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