Opening Day overshadowed by cloud hanging over Ohtani in gambling scandal

TOKYO — It’s opening day for MLB and there is a lot to look forward to. Shohei Ohtani looks bigger and stronger than ever before. He has put on more muscle during the offseason, he is in the peak prime of his career, and he has added a wife to his repertoire. It would not be surprising to see him hit 50 home runs hitting in a lineup with Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts — three MVP’s in a row. Pitchers will be reluctant to walk him with such fellow powerhouses in the lineup and, thus, Ohtani will see more good pitches to hit. Sixty homers even seems reasonable.

That’s if, of course, this gambling scandal doesn’t torpedo his season. MLB fans in Japan as well as in North America all got a good introduction to the new reality of sports gambling recently with the publicized adventures of Shohei and Ippei Mizuhara. Version one had Ohtani paying off his good friend’s debts to explain wire transfers to an illegal bookmaker with Ohtani’s name on them, and 24 hours later, Version two, where Ohtani claimed massive theft.