JUPITER, Fla. — Something we were led to believe would be nearly impossible happened Thursday, and most of the Cardinals players in the Roger Dean Stadium clubhouse stuck close to the TV to watch.
The powerhouse, star-studded, “checkbook baseball” (Cardinals opening day starter Miles Mikolas’ words) Los Angeles Dodgers lost.
And that’s not all.
They got blitzed, 15-11, by old friend Mike Shildt’s Padres.
And that’s not all.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese sensation the Cardinals and others coveted before the Dodgers paid him $325 million during a record offseason for spending, got shelled in his MLB debut. After looking shaky this spring, he allowed five runs on 43 pitches. His next second inning pitched in the regular season will become his first.
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And that’s not all.
The biggest story in sports right now is the scandal directly connected to the biggest superstar on a baseball team overflowing with them.
Major League Baseball must investigate face of the league Shohei Ohtani’s potential involvement in sports betting because of this insane (and developing) story about his now-former interpreter and his own money being ensnared in a federal investigation into alleged illegal bookmaking.
Was Ohtani helping a friend cover debt owed, being stolen from or something more complicated and outside of the lines? Stories keep changing.
First, it was reported that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara told the team Ohtani covered his debts. Then it was reported that Ohtani is accusing the interpreter of stealing from him. When Ohtani had a chance to address the matter during MLB’s season-opening series in South Korea, he reportedly avoided media with the help of Dodgers public relations staff. There seem to be a lot of people speaking on behalf of Ohtani who are only being referenced as, “spokesperson.”
Hmm.
The National League favorite most expect to cakewalk its way to a World Series championship has encountered some sudden early turbulence. I feel bad for LA Times sports columnist Dylan Hernandez. He was probably planning a pithy opening day column making fun of Rams-losing Ƶ. Now he has to work instead.
Yamamoto probably will settle in. This Ohtani story? Not going away. Especially if MLB looks like a league trying to make it go away. This one should not be swept under some rug. Time to shine a light.
The silliest thing I read Thursday was someone speaking on behalf of MLB to The Athletic, saying Ohtani is not the subject of a league investigation. That person better have meant “not yet,” right? Because if Ohtani wasn’t Ohtani, and if the Dodgers weren’t the Dodgers, what is the chance a player in Ohtani’s position would be suspended until that investigation occurs?
Baseball updated its rules on gambling this offseason to make more clear a topic that becomes murkier by the day. When the U.S. Supreme Court said a few years ago that sports gambling is up to states to embrace or stiff-arm, and more and more states leaned into the money-making venture, making sure players and team personnel know the difference between what is and is not legal and what is and is not against league’s rules, which are stricter than the law, is more important than ever before.
League officials made stops throughout camps this spring to make it known to players what they can, can’t and simply should not do. Sometimes league meetings are a snooze. Not this one.
“It was an hour conversation regarding it,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said. “We feel confident our group is aware of what they are allowed and not allowed to do. The guys that presented had the clubhouse’s attention.”
Major leaguers CAN place LEGAL bets on other sports. They can play fantasy sports other than baseball for money. They can even endorse legalized gambling ventures and casinos.
What they CAN’T do is bet on baseball in any way, play fantasy baseball for money or help anyone who does, or recommend how to bet on any baseball game.
Question: Shouldn’t MLB find out for certain that Ohtani wasn’t on the wrong side of these very clear rules? The Dodgers saying so isn’t enough. This wasn’t small stuff, folks. Reports say at least $4.5 million of Ohtani’s money was in play in out-of-bounds fashion.
Yowza.
Just like that, the Dodgers now have another significant distraction in their clubhouse. This one might not be as unsightly as ex-Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s headline-generating sex life, but it’s going to get even more attention on a team that already was feeling the weight of Ohtani on its shoulders.
The Dodgers are beatable, we learned Thursday. Their second-biggest offseason addition just got rocked in his debut. Their biggest addition should be under MLB investigation soon, if the league cares about its credibility.
Suddenly the Cardinals starting the season against these guys in Los Angeles looks like decent timing instead of seeming as if the schedule makers handed them a losing bet.