Ohtani

On March 20, lawyers for Shohei Ohtani accused the Dodgers star’s longtime interpreter and close friend of stealing millions of dollars from the athlete to cover bets with an alleged illegal bookmaker under federal investigation.  It’s a remarkable story with many layers. There’s the alleged betrayal by Ippei Mizuhara, who up until his abrupt firing Wednesday, was interpreting for Ohtani that same day in Seoul, where the Dodgers began their season with a special pair of games against the San Diego Padres. There’s…

Uncertainty suddenly surrounds one of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars, with Shohei Ohtani mired in recent days in a growing scandal linked to a federal investigation into illegal sports gambling.The public so far has only a fragmented picture of the case. But more facts could emerge in coming days and weeks, legal experts said, as federal prosecutors try to make sense of competing claims about Ohtani’s money being used to pay down gambling debts with a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. One key question —…

Shohei Ohtani is no Pete Rose. At least not yet.For one thing, as accomplished as Ohtani is at baseball, his career 684 hits pale in comparison with Rose’s 4,256, the most of any major league player. More pertinent to the news cycle is that Ohtani hasn’t been accused of betting on baseball, or betting at all. Rose famously was banned from baseball for life in 1989 by then-Commissioner Bartlett Giamatti (yes, Paul’s dad), whose investigation concluded that Rose had bet on major league games as a player and as a…

When most baseball players are on the field, they look the way most of us do at our jobs.They clench their jaws. They don’t smile. They look like they’re working.Shohei Ohtani is an exception.He smiles. He laughs. He playfully gestures.His talent affords him the luxury of treating the game like a game.He’s Magic Johnson. He’s Manny Pacquiao. He’s Ronaldinho.His youthful spirit is a major reason behind his widespread popularity, and he should do everything in his power to preserve it.On the field, that is.Off the…

SEOUL —  The camera shot of the dugout looked reminiscent of so many before.Shohei Ohtani approaching his long-time interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara. The two exchanging a few words while gazing out at the field. Each of them cracking a smile and sharing a laugh, as if no major scandal was bubbling behind the scenes.Those were the images that flashed across SportsNet LA’s broadcast in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ opening day win on Wednesday — a seemingly friendly interaction between Ohtani and Mizuhara at…

SEOUL —  The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reportedly received an email Wednesday about a bomb threat at the Gocheok Sky Dome, where the Dodgers are set to begin their season against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night as part of Major League Baseball’s World Tour Seoul Series.However, no dangerous or suspicious situation was found, according to the Yonhap News Agency, and a Major League Baseball spokesperson said that Wednesday night’s game was scheduled to proceed as planned.“The safety and security of our…

PHOENIX —  Shohei Ohtani’s life away from the baseball diamond has always been intensely private. About all he’s ever revealed is that he owns a dog named Dekopin.Until now. Ohtani, 29, posted on Instagram in the early hours of Thursday morning that he is married. Yes, the two-way superstar has his first ring as a Dodger, and it came as a shock even to the Japanese media horde that covers his every public word, step and swing.“Not only have I begun a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers but I also have begun a new…

PHOENIX —  The crowd gasped.Was this really happening?A dull desert afternoon suddenly became a noisy celebration of dazzling disbelief.This was really happening!Shohei Ohtani, down to his last pitch in what had been a failure of a first game in a Dodgers uniform, clubbed that pitch high into the blue midday sky, the ball soaring over an Air National Guard advertisement before dropping into the grassy area beyond the left-field wall.And for his first act, Babe Ruth was Babe Ruth.It’s real. It’s him. And, goodness, it…

PHOENIX —  As he threw batting practice to Shohei Ohtani on Friday, Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel learned more about the superstar slugger based on what he did with bad pitches, not good ones.Plenty of players, Ebel noted, can launch towering drive after towering drive at soft throws over the middle of the plate.But on pitches that missed the heart of the zone Friday, Ohtani either laid off — a rare trait Ebel said spoke to the hitter’s efficient approach and purposeful work ethic — or made a quick and powerful…

Congress should narrow a loophole that could spare Shohei Ohtani from paying tens of millions in California taxes, the state controller said Monday.The Dodgers last month signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700-million contract, with Ohtani deferring $680 million until after the contract expires in 2033.By that time, Ohtani could have returned to Japan or moved elsewhere outside California, where he might not be liable for state taxes on the deferrals. That could cost the state an estimated $98 million in tax revenue, according…