OT: It's opening day for baseball - is the Ohtani betting scandal even bigger news?
I grew up going to opening day at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull and still remember opening day in 1978 watching Mark "the Bird" Fidrych and the whole city going nuts over him. A true one-of-a-kind and if you were alive and a baseball fan back then you'll remember the hysteria every time he took the mound. Gone too soon from baseball and life - RIP Mark.
Fast forward to today and baseball has a mess of biblical proportions on it's hands. it's biggest star, it's biggest international star, Shohei Ohtani, is embroiled in a possible betting scandal that looks worse every day. Initially reported as him having no connection to the interpreter's debt of 4.5MM, then he was simply helping a friend out of a debt, then changed to the interpreter stealing the money from him. Yet no charges have been filed by Ohtani against the person who allegedly stole 4.5MM dollars and he refuses to answer any questions regarding the situation. The LA Times published an excellent piece on the situation last night that exposes all the inconsistencies in Ohtani's ever-evolving explanation for what happened. And asks some very interesting questions like "why would an illegal bookmaker extend 4.5MM in credit to an interpreter? And how did all the various banking tripwires get evaded so the theft on this magnitude goes undetected?
I know Pete Rose is watching this situation closely.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:15 AM ^
Tiger memories -- 1984 of course....what a time to be 11 or 12 years old. Brought my glove to school seemingly every day that spring and fall. Meeting Steve Kemp, Champ Summers, Johnny Wockenfuss at the old stadium. Hell, even the dirty water hot dogs with the spicy mustard were great. As a recall, there used to be a guy out front selling warm peanuts, and we would get those, too.
The Ohtani stuff -- the most fascinating thing to me is how badly MLB certainly wants this all to go away, but I don't think it will.
Anyway, the Tigers might be a bit better than last year, and they might contend in a bad AL Central. I hope they at least improve and are entertaining.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:23 AM ^
Growing up my dad would take me to three or four Tigers games every year and we always sat upper deck, first base side between home plate and first. And when I think back on those days the two things I remember most are the smell of the ballpark as we walked across the metal gangplank to our section (a blend of hot dogs & beer) and how incredibly green the grass was.
My year was 68 - the year of the Tigers! Denny McClain winning 31 games and Mickey Lolich basically winning the World Series for them.
March 28th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
We have the same childhood memories mGrowOld!! My first game at Tiger Stadium was 1964. What a experience for a 7 year old. Not sure if it was that year or one following but I remember Earl Wilson hitting a pinch hit walk off home run.
March 29th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
My first game was also in '64. I remember my dad and brother and I coming out of the tunnel. I'd never seen grass that green, it almost hurt your eyes. Played the Yankees and Kaline and Cash hit a homerun.
One of my greatest and fondest memories.
The grass was always the greenest -- and Tiger Stadium had the greenskeeper "show" in the middle of the fifth inning. Our head greenskeeper, name escapes me, was a real showman. That was a bit of fun in the middle of the game.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:26 AM ^
Yeah, the fact he hasn't filed a suit against the interpreter may not mean anything; you don't HAVE to sue someone if they wronged you, and for a guy who's going to make over $1B in his career it may just not be his jam to hurt his friend. Now, do I think he knows more than he's letting on? Absolutely, but there are likely personal and cultural reasons behind it that you aren't likely to get out of him without some pressure from MLB.
As for the larger "is gambling cheating" I guess we've just evolved past caring now since betting has become so overtly tied to sports now. Hell, MSU had a deal with a betting shop a couple years ago. It doesn't sound like Ohtani's interpreter was betting on games he was playing in (though of course that may come out), so there's less of a concern there in terms of fixing results as compared to what's happening with the Porter story in the NBA where a bunch of action came in specifically on his performances in games. And as for why gambling providers would give him a line of credit, they absolutely know that once he's in debt they can squeeze him for info about Ohtani, his teams, etc. and use that to better play the betting odds. So not a huge surprise they wouldn't mind giving him (relatively) small amounts of leeway.
It's a shady situation all around but also one I suspect happens more often and just isn't so blatant that guys get caught.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:31 AM ^
Pressing charges (or not) isn’t up to Ohtani.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:57 AM ^
But his cooperation would be pretty important.
Why?
March 28th, 2024 at 11:33 AM ^
I'll never be able to understand people who defend Rose. It doesn't matter if he never bet his team to lose. You cannot gamble on a game you're involved in, period.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
Baseball fans deserve a better superstar than Ohtani. I realize there's a language barrier, but he has little charisma, clearly doesn't like interacting with fans, is extremely protective of information, and has no interest in media appearances. He's just not an entertaining person.
March 28th, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
You could be describing Mike Trout, the dullest superstar in history.
Honestly I feel bad for the guy. I mean.....not too bad considering he can swim in ten vault's worth of Scrooge McDuck kind of money. But from the perspective of being able to win it all, yeah I feel a little bad.
He's one of the better baseball players of this generation and he could very well go into retirement without a single World Series ring to his name. The Angels haven't really come close to truly competing for titles in his time with the organization, gotten to a World Series, much less won one.
By the time his current contract is up, he'll be 38-39 years old, and while he could still play another few years beyond that, he won't be the same player then that he is now. Maybe he can go the Pujols route and try to latch on to a team that is in "win now" mode, looking to add a few more butts in seats with having Mike Trout on the roster, but otherwise his prospects are looking slim with staying where he is.
The guy must really love Anaheim, because his team sure isn't doing a lot to surround him with the kind of team he'd need to win a World Series.
You should try watching him play baseball.
Well, yeah. That's all that matters. My post was a response to the one criticizing Ohtani for the same.
DCMaizeNBlue was replying to Cam's preposterous takedown of Ohtani. (I mean, accurate in terms of personality but preposterous in terms of saying fan deserve better.)
March 28th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mark at Tiger Fantasy Camp in 1992. Definitely one of my favorite players to talk to that week. RIP Mark🙏
The whole Ohtani story is a little fishy to me. Only time will tell on that one if at all.
My twin sis who lives in Virginia and a huge Orioles fan is in Baltimore today for their opener.
March 28th, 2024 at 12:06 PM ^
If he bet on anything other than baseball, we'll eventually be able to file this under the category of "no one really cares. He'll get a relative slap on the wrist. It'll be a sort-of funny SNL skit, it'll make the rounds on late night talk shows for a few weeks, and then after that, it'll be ancient news.
If he bet on baseball, then that changes everything, and he's in a world of trouble.
March 28th, 2024 at 12:09 PM ^
Part of the issue, whether Jordan, Rose or Ohtani, is that if you are the kind of person who is obsessively competitive and are focusing that obsession on gambling, then you are very likely to eventually go outside of the guardrails and cross a line, threatening the integrity of the game. Additionally, even before you cross that line, approaching it can give the appearance of you going out of bounds. This threatens the perception of the integrity of the game, which is also a major problem. Perception becomes reality when fans determine how to spend their time and money.
The rules have historically been crafted to put the line far enough away from it being a problem to make enforcement easy and to maintain the perception of integrity. In the past couple of decades, the rules have moved closer to the line.
Is it possible to safely stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon? Sure, but if you're standing there, people are going to wonder why, possibly think you're crazy and if the wind picks up or rock/soil falls away....
March 28th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
Not to thread-jack my own thread but your analogy re the Grand Canyon made me think of the time I was there a few years ago and we took a guided tour of the rim. Our tour guide pointed out the idiots standing precariously close to the edge who were ALWAYS taking a selfie and he said basically that's the most idiotic thing you can do. "There's literally 20 miles of nothingness between you and the other side. If you take a selfie standing on the edge it looks exactly the same as if you took one standing 10 feet in front of it."
While it is idiotic to stand right at the edge of the Grand Canyon or other similar places, especially for a selfie, there's an odd part of our brains that subconsciously seeks out that danger, often described as the "call of the void" where a very small part of you very fleetingly ponders what it's be like to jump down.
To be clear, it's very very bad to do this and if you are ideating sustained thoughts about this you should seek help, but the passing idea of 'what if I did This Bad Thing's is a very normal and human impulse.
March 28th, 2024 at 12:35 PM ^
Let's do this...
its all fun and games until a yankee fan shows up...
March 28th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
Everyone yells “BET” around here so I would think not, ya filthy hypocrites
March 28th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
Will the Reds (my favorite team) be a playoff team in 2024?
Probably not, given the way things tend to go with them.
But on Opening Day —- hope ALWAYS springs eternal!
My dad loved baseball and passed that love down to my brother and I. Miss you dad and opening day is not the same without you.
I grew up in a small town in the middle of the state, so it was a long trip to Tiger Stadium. We would go once a year for a double header (back in the day when those where a regular part of the schedule).
But, with Fidrych mania running wild, my dad got us tickets for a Friday night game against the Brewers in early September 1976 so we could see Fidrych pitch. Pedro Garcia dropped a pop up early in the 1st and The Bird got shelled thereafter. He lasted about 2 innings. When he got pulled, somebody yelled “let Pedro pitch.”
To this day, my family always says “let Pedro pitch” when a Tiger starter has a bad outing.
You saw Fidrych on Opening Day?! So cool.
Also, I assume the absolute biggest news in baseball today is the Tiger's game. Right?
[EDIT: Go, Tigers! 1-0!!]
Go Cubs!
go back a few years, like, to 1938. my dad is 13 yrs old and working on the farm with family and they finish early so they can ride in the back of an old (!!!) ford farm truck on dirt roads, all the way to detroit. they sit in the bleachers at tiger/briggs stadium, soaking in the sun, and skipping farm work that afternoon.
my, how things have changed.
go tigers.
Im just sad I still have to watch Javy Baez attempt to hit a baseball.
Shoeless Joe was the best player of his time - MLB still banned him
Pete Rose is the all-time hit king - MLB still banned him
But today, pro sports are getting increasingly more comfortable with the gambling industry. They won’t ban Ohtani, no matter what the investigation shows. Maybe a lengthy (half a season?) suspension…but MLB won’t ban their biggest and brightest star
March 28th, 2024 at 11:03 PM ^
Plus baseball was hardly catering to the international markets and nearly as driven by TV revenue as it was during their days (yes, I realize Shoeless Joe was pre-TV)
Wow. The movement on those last two pitches at 101mph from Foley. Those were ridiculous.
Loving Jason Benetti and Craig Monroe on the TV broadcast and Tiger pitching.
I'm not into baseball and couldn't care less about the so called scandal. I'm happy to see Asians kicking ass in a Western sport though.
March 28th, 2024 at 11:05 PM ^
At least the Tigers can take our minds off of the total epic collapse going on down the street with the Red Wings.
Rose admitted betting on his team to win. Did not admit to betting against his team. He also admitted that his barber was blind.