Pete Rose wishes a lot of things went differently during his time in Major League Baseball, but most of all, he wishes he had a fall guy like Shohei Ohtani does.
It was only a matter of time before Pete Rose chimed in about the ongoing drama surrounding baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who has been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers over allegations he stole $4.5 million from Ohtani to cover his own gambling debt.
The offseason for Major League Baseball was dominated by Shohei Ohtani’s free agency and eventual signing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The start of the 2024 season has been dominated by an off-field storyline surrounding Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired by the Dodgers just mere hours after the first game of the season in South Korea after reports surfaced that he allegedly committed “massive thefts” against Ohtani.
The MLB officially launched an investigation on March 22nd and Ohtani finally spoke to the media for the very first time since the scandal broke. He insisted that he was betrayed by his close friend and that he never placed any bets on sporting events:
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf. I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”
This situation reminds us a ton about Pete Rose and his issues.
Cincinnati native and Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose certainly knows what it is like to be enthralled in a gambling scandal.
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Also Read: New Report Details How A Bankrupt Bettor Became The Bookie At Center Of The Shohei Ohtani Scandal
Rose, who remains permanently on baseball’s ineligible list, had some thoughts of his own on the matter.
“Back in the 70s and 80s, I wish I had an interpreter. I’d be scott-free,” Pete Rose said.
It was just last week when talk show host Jimmy Kimmel included a joke about Pete Rose and Ohtani in his monologue. Four years ago, Pete Rose told Jim Gray that betting on baseball was the only mistake Rose had ever made.
In 2019, Rose stated on a podcast that he estimated his lifetime ban from baseball for gambling had cost him $100 million in earnings.
Pete Rose Accepted A Permanent Ban on Baseball’s Ineligible List
The MLB banned Rose from baseball for life in 1989 after investigator John Dowd found that Rose placed bets on the Cincinnati Reds while playing for and managing the team from 1985-1987, according to the Associated Press.
Pete Rose voluntarily accepted a permanent place on baseball’s ineligible list. He accepted that there was a factual reason for the ban. In return, MLB agreed to make no formal finding with regard to the gambling allegations.
