The city of Los Angeles | Against the backdrop of a gambling scandal that has ensnared Major League Baseball’s brightest star, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers take center stage on Thursday as the new season of Major League Baseball gets underway on United States territory.
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The move was generally heralded as a huge coup when the Dodgers won the race to sign Japanese superstar Ohtani in December of last year on a lavish $700 million deal. This deal has the distinction of being the biggest contract in the history of North American sports.
Since Ohtani’s debut in the major leagues in 2018, he has been receiving comparisons to the legendary Babe Ruth due to his once-in-a-generation combination of outstanding pitching and hitting. Ohtani has been named the Most Valuable Player of the American League on two separate occasions.
The acquisition of pitchers Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani’s highly regarded Japan teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto by the Dodgers sent still another jolt to the spiraling enthusiasm that was already present among Dodgers supporters. This acquisition is more evidence that the franchise is determined to make a real run at the World Series.
However, after three months have passed, the excitement that the Los Angeles Dodgers had in response to their buying binge in December has subsided. This is because the Dodgers are getting ready to play host to the St. Louis Cardinals in their home opener with the Cardinals on Thursday.
During the first week of the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers played two games versus San Diego in Seoul. The series ended with a 1-1 matchup last week.
Ohtani’s longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was accused of defrauding him out of millions of dollars to pay off gambling debts. The results, on the other hand, were a footnote to the scandal that exploded surrounding Ohtani after Mizuhara’s allegations.
An announcement was made by Ohtani’s team, stating that the superstar had been the victim of a “massive theft” committed by Mizuhara, who was swiftly terminated from his position with the Dodgers the previous week.
Issues that remain unresolved
However, the specifics of the controversy remained unclear, as they were muddled by comments made by Mizuhara that contradicted each other. Mizuhara initially told ESPN that Ohtani personally had approved payments to an illegal bookmaker that totaled $4.5 million.
Mizuhara revised his narrative twenty-four hours later, stating that Ohtani was unaware of his gambling debts and did not transfer the money from his account. He also stated that Ohtani did not transfer the money from his account.
At the same time that analysts throughout the United States media were wondering aloud whether Mizuhara had in fact been putting bets on Ohtani’s behalf, Major League Baseball revealed for the first time on Friday that they would be conducting an official inquiry. If the bets concerned Ohtani’s own team, Mizuhara might face a ban that would end his career.
Ohtani denied ever betting on sports in his first public comments on the subject, which were made on Monday. He also accused Mizuhara of transferring money without his knowledge and described himself as “beyond shocked” at the loss of trust.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports and I never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf and I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” Ohtani explained to reporters.
The all of this has been a total fabrication…Up until a few days ago, I was completely unaware that this was really taking place… According to Ippei, he has taken money from my account and lied about it.
The 12-minute presentation that Ohtani gave did not do much to remove the lingering questions that were associated with the situation. These questions were left hanging because the Dodgers refused to allow media to ask questions of the superstar.
In order to transfer enormous sums of money, how was Mizuhara able to gain access to Ohtani’s bank account?
No one in Ohtani’s entourage seemed to notice that $4.5 million had vanished without a trace.
What would be the rationale for an illegal bookmaker extending credit in the millions of dollars to an interpreter who is reportedly earning between $300,000 and $500,000 per year or more?
Putting the wagons in a row
The Dodgers, on the other hand, have done everything they can to support their struggling superstar superstar.
“We’re all behind the guy,” Max Muncy, the third baseman for the Dodgers, said about Ohtani after he addressed the media on Monday.
In my opinion, and from where I came from, you are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The individual has shared with us in person what he considers to be the truth, and that is the basis upon which I am basing my conclusions. I believe him completely. Regarding that, I have his support.”
When asked about Ohtani’s account of the events, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts referred to it as “very honest.”
“I know that for me and the organization, we support him,” Roberts stated to reporters. Regarding the information that he knew and did not know, I was able to get a number of questions addressed. At this point, I am looking forward to simply going on with my life and, of course, allowing the authorities to handle this situation so that I can concentrate on baseball.
The kind of optimism that you have may turn out to be irrational.
Jeff Passan, an analyst for ESPN, issued a warning that the fallout from the discoveries could plague the Dodgers throughout the season. This is because the Major League Baseball is investigating the case, and federal investigators in the United States are conducting a more comprehensive investigation into illicit betting.
The sprawling investigation that could take a long time to be resolved,” Passan explained to reporters. This is the kind of thing that will cause the Dodgers to be plagued by it for the entire season. The only thing we can do is wait and see how they react.
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