'He's gonna be a Blue Jay.' Inside the day Shohei Ohtani did not fly to Toronto.
TORONTO — It all started with a tweet.
Two of them, actually.
On Dec. 8 last year, during a Friday afternoon in the thick of MLB's offseason, Toronto-based freelance photographer — and proud Blue Jays fan — Carlos Osorio was scrolling through X (formerly Twitter) when he saw a flurry of social media speculation centered on Shohei Ohtani.
It began with one post tracking a private jet flying from Orange County to Toronto; one that online sleuths deduced must have been taking Ohtani to meet — or sign — with the Blue Jays, a known finalist in the sweepstakes for the free-agent star.
Then came apparent confirmation from an MLB Network reporter, who asserted that "Shohei Ohtani is en route to Toronto today," citing multiple unspecified sources.
With his curiosity piqued, and his Blue Jays fandom buzzing, Osorio decided to jump into action. He emailed his editor with Reuters, offering to drive to Toronto Pearson Airport to capture Ohtani's supposed arrival. He joined a pack of other photographers and autograph hounds who
