Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious renovation detail that might’ve helped land Roki Sasaki

It'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.

So, when the highly coveted Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki hit the international free agent market, the Dodgers were going to do whatever it took to woo him to Los Angeles – even if it meant installing new toilets in the clubhouse as part of a $100 million renovation project.

Dodgers team president and CEO Stan Kasten recently told Bill Plunkett of the OC Register that plumbing upgrades were incorporated into the club's ongoing clubhouse renovations in part to entice Sasaki to sign in Los Angeles.

“During our first meeting with Roki, we were telling him about the project we had ongoing to upgrade our clubhouse and facilities,” Kasten said (via Plunkett). “I was telling him about all the amenities we were adding. ‘We’re going to have this and this and this.’ And he asked, ‘Are you going to have Japanese-style toilets?’”

Kasten made it happen, and Sasaki became a Dodger. Of course, the $6.5 million signing bonus didn't hurt; but the toilets were a nice touch.

Dodgers CEO reveals hilarious toilet renovation detail that might’ve helped land Roki Sasaki

Sasaki later claimed that he had inquired about the toilets at least partly in jest, but Kasten's eagerness to oblige reflected well on the organization's commitment to listening to their players' input and ensuring their comfort throughout the season.

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' clubhouse.

Call it an unorthodox recruiting strategy, but the Dodgers' 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.

More Dodgers content from Dodgers Way