Shohei Ohtani Is His Generation’s Babe Ruth: Could He Also Be Its Pete Rose?

Both the sports betting controversy involving Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani and growing worries about the detrimental effects of gambling on collegiate and professional sports are unlikely to go away very soon.

The two-time AL MVP, Shohei Ohtani, just agreed to a $700 million deal to play with the Dodgers. The slugger who was born in Japan is the face of baseball; he is a well-known international star.

However, that reputation was damaged when Ippei Mizuhara, Mr. Ohtani’s longtime buddy and interpreter, was let go by the Dodgers during a federal investigation into a suspected illicit bookmaker. Four and a half million dollars in wire transactions from Mr. Ohtani’s bank account to a betting company in California were discovered during the examination.

While the Dodgers were playing two games in Seoul, South Korea, to kick off their 2024 Major League Baseball season against the San Diego Padres, the news broke. An international celebration and “Seoul Series” came to a close under a cloud of controversy, and Mr. Ohtani refused to speak to the media.

At first, Mr. Mizuhara told ESPN that Mr. Ohtani had given the money to pay off the interpreter’s debt from gambling. In a statement released a day later, Mr. Ohtani’s attorneys claimed that the baseball player had been the unwitting victim of “massive theft.” “We are turning the matter over to the authorities,” stated Mr. Ohtani’s attorneys, while Mr. Mizuhara declined to comment further.

Although Mr. Ohtani hasn’t been charged with betting, the developing story raises questions about The biggest star in baseball. Longtime baseball journalist and current columnist for BallNine.com Kevin Kernan tells the Sun, “You have to suspend belief to believe it all.” It’s a big story, in my opinion. We’ll watch how baseball responds to this.

ESPN reports that it reviewed bank information with Mr. Ohtani’s name on two $500,000 payments in September and October of last year. Mr. Mizuhara insisted he placed bets for himself on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and college football, but not on baseball. Mr. Mizuhara said the wagers did not involve Mr. Ohtani.

Major League Baseball released a statement on Friday announcing it began a formal investigation into the gambling allegations surrounding Mr. Mizuhara, meaning that the scandal could hang over Mr. Ohtani for much of this season.

Questions abound. How could Mr. Ohtani not know his interpreter and confidant since 2017 stole $4.5 million of his money to pay gambling debts? Was Mr. Ohtani an innocent victim? And why were those payments debited from his bank accounts?

The Internal Revenue Service  also confirmed an AP story that Mr. Mizuhara and alleged bookmaker Mathew Boyer are under criminal investigation. “This is bad for Ohtani on so many levels,” Mr. Kernan tells the Sun. “You have to question everything now.”

Whether Mr. Ohtani faces a threat of suspension remains to be seen. Baseball traditionally takes a hard stand against gambling, evidenced by Commissioner Bart Giamatti issuing a lifetime ban to legend Pete Rose in 1989 for betting on his team. Mr. Giamatti died of a heart attack one month after banishing Mr. Rose, and the game’s most prolific hitter has never been eligible for the Hall of Fame.