{"id":45675,"date":"2025-05-02T08:53:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45675"},"modified":"2025-05-02T08:53:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T08:53:40","slug":"dodgers-ceo-reveals-hilarious-renovation-detail-that-mightve-helped-land-roki-sasaki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45675","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious renovation detail that might\u2019ve helped land Roki Sasaki"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">Whatever it takes, right?<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex items-center justify-between text-darkGrey font-group-bigger\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_51,w_3016,h_1696\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/75\/01jt3d4b8qyvv77g6gdg.jpg\" alt=\"Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers\" width=\"3016\" height=\"1696\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers | Harry How\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\">\n<div class=\"hidden md:block md:mx-4 hidden md:block\" data-testid=\"share-menu\">\n<div class=\"sticky top-20 mb-3\" data-testid=\"share-menu-inner\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">It&#8217;s a well-established fact that baseball players are particular about their game day routines, from what they eat to how they dress and, apparently, how they use the bathroom.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" data-uw-rm-sr=\"\">So, when the highly coveted\u00a0Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki\u00a0hit the international free agent market, the Dodgers were going to do whatever it took to woo him to Los Angeles \u2013 even if it meant installing new toilets in the clubhouse as part of a $100 million renovation project.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Dodgers team president and CEO Stan Kasten\u00a0recently told Bill Plunkett of the OC Register\u00a0that plumbing upgrades were incorporated into the club&#8217;s ongoing clubhouse renovations in part to entice Sasaki to sign in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">\u201cDuring our first meeting with Roki, we were telling him about the project we had ongoing to upgrade our clubhouse and facilities,\u201d\u00a0Kasten said (via Plunkett). \u201cI was telling him about all the amenities we were adding. \u2018We\u2019re going to have this and this and this.\u2019 And he asked, \u2018Are you going to have Japanese-style toilets?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" data-uw-rm-sr=\"\">Kasten made it happen, and\u00a0Sasaki became a Dodger. Of course, the $6.5 million signing bonus didn&#8217;t hurt; but\u00a0the toilets were a nice touch.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious toilet renovation detail that might\u2019ve helped land Roki Sasaki<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Sasaki later claimed that he had inquired about the toilets at least partly in jest, but Kasten&#8217;s eagerness to oblige reflected well on the organization&#8217;s commitment to listening to their players&#8217; input and ensuring their comfort throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Admittedly, Japanese-style toilets are no ordinary toilets. They are high-tech and typically include features such as a bidet function, a remote control, heated seats, deodorization, automatic lids and more. They are the pinnacle of lavatory technology, making American toilets seem almost primitive by comparison. Talk about a culture shock for Sasaki and his fellow Japanese countrymen in the Dodgers&#8217; clubhouse.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Call it an unorthodox recruiting strategy, but the Dodgers&#8217; plumbing upgrades show that they are actually lightyears ahead of their competition when it comes to attracting top-level talent on the global market. Cultural sensitivity and attention to detail can go a long way in setting the Dodgers apart from other organizations in their international scouting efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whatever it takes, right? Pittsburgh Pirates v Los Angeles Dodgers | Harry How\/GettyImages It&#8217;s a well-established fact that baseball players are particular about their game day routines,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious renovation detail that might\u2019ve helped land Roki Sasaki - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious renovation detail that might\u2019ve helped land Roki Sasaki - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whatever it takes, right? 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