Blue Jays conspiracy theories run wild as fans tie private plane to Shohei Ohtani rumors

Shohei Ohtani's free agency seems like it's nearly coming to an end, and the culprit of a leak on his long-awaited, top-secret decision could be a...private plane? X and Reddit have gone wild in the hour or so since Jon Morosi's announcement of Ohtani's imminent decision, with attentions now focused on a private plane flying from Santa Ana, California, about twenty minutes from Anaheim, to Toronto.

Various iterations of a tweet posted yesterday by X user G Zipman, which may be the origin of the theory, have been running across social channels in the wake of Morosi's tweet.

Blue Jays Rumors: Is Shohei Ohtani's plane headed to Toronto on Decision Day?

Other commenters on X have noted that it's rare for a plane to fly directly between those two airports, and that Ohtani has been spotted flying in that specific model — a Bombadier Global 5000 — in the past. Morosi, meanwhile, has been fanning the flames by reposting his appearance on MLB Network's Hot Stove this morning with only an emoji of the Canadian flag.

The theory doesn't stop there; a Redditor noted that today, Dec. 8, is a lucky day in Japanese culture, and Ohtani signed with Angels on Dec. 8 in 2017. It's also been rumored that Yusei Kikuchi, one of only eight Japanese players in MLB right now, who Ohtani would be joining on the Jays, bought out a sushi restaurant near Rogers Center for a party of 50+ tonight.

Without trying to peddle conspiracy theories too seriously, the madness surrounding Ohtani in just the past few hours makes it easy to see how they can be so persuasive. It's entirely possible that the plane is not Ohtani's, that Kikuchi's sushi reservation has nothing to do with him, and so on. But wouldn't it be so cool if it was?

If the airplane tracker originally posted by G Zipman, is to be believed, Ohtani/not-Ohtani's plane will land in Toronto around 4 PM EST. It's time for all of us to put on our tinfoil hats, keep our fingers crossed, and hope that someone spots Ohtani walking out of that Bombadier General 5000 early this evening.

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