By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. In this month’s edition, we take a look at some of the players in March Madness, Major League Baseball opening up in Korea, and Shohei Ohtani firing his long-time interpreter over gambling debts.
March Madness features Asian players
Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga (30) dribbles the ball past Texas A&M forward Henry Coleman III (15) during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 22, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
NCAA March Madness produced several great performances. Notably, Purdue is headed to the Final Four thanks in large part to Canadian-Chinese center Zach Edey. The 7-foot-4 Edey was named Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus National Player of the Year. He was the go-to-guy for the Boilermakers.
Edey’s Chinese mother is 6-foot-3 and born to Chinese immigrants in Toronto, Canada. She married a white man and they raised Edey in Toronto. Both of his parents were athletes.
Zach did not play basketball until he was in high school, but his height obviously gave him an advantage despite starting later than other kids. He led Purdue to the Final Four with 40 points in the Regional Semifinal against Tennessee.
Purdue center Zach Edey holds an NCAA Regional Championship trophy after an Elite Eight college basketball game against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Nebraska University’s Keisei Tominaga has been nicknamed “Samurai Steph” for his three point prowess. Tominaga also represents the men’s national team in Japan and the national 3-on-3 Olympic team. He played at a junior college for the first two years and then the next three years with Nebraska. He stated that Nebraska was like his second home. Tominaga had thought about turning pro last year, but decided to come back one more year to play for Nebraska.
Tominaga’s 21 points were not enough in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the Cornhuskers fell to Texas A&M. Tominaga’s post-game interview went viral as he was overcome with emotion. It would be the last time that he would play for his head coach. Tominaga was in tears as the waning seconds ticked off the clock in the game against Texas A&M.
MLB begins in South Korea
San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (7) plays during a spring training baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Monday, March 25, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Major League Baseball (MLB) opened up early this year when the Los Angeles Dodgers played the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to the games between the Dodgers and Padres, each team played an exhibition game against Korean teams. The trip was a homecoming for Padres Ha-Seong Kim. Kim hit two homers in an exhibition game against the LG Twins.
On the first night, the favorite to win the World Series this season defeated the Padres 5-2. In the game, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and a run batted in. The Padres were able to split the series with the Dodgers with a 15-11 win. The newest pitcher to the Dodgers staff, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, did not have a great debut as he took the loss and only lasted one inning giving up 5 runs.
The two teams left spring training in Arizona early to start the season in South Korea. MLB chose South Korea to play its annual international games. The last time that MLB went to Asia, the Seattle Mariners played the Oakland Athletics in 2019 in Tokyo. Some may recall that Ichiro Suzuki played his last game in professional baseball for the Mariners.
MLB investigates Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, right, and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, leave after a news conference ahead of a baseball workout at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2024. The firing of Ohtani’s interpreter by the Los Angeles Dodgers over allegations of illegal gambling has highlighted an issue many outside of California don’t realize: Sports betting is still against the law in the nation’s most populous state. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Shohei Ohtani is making news off the baseball field due to a gambling scandal involving his former interpreter. Ohtani and his lawyers are accusing Ippei Mizuhara of taking funds from Ohtani to use for illegal gambling. According to ESPN, at least $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a California bookmaker. The bookmaker is currently under investigation and Mizuhara was fired.
Not only was Mizuhara a long-time interpreter for Ohtani, but he was considered a friend. The implication was that Ohtani may have known about the gambling although there is no evidence as of yet. Betting on sports is not legal in California and illegal gambling on any sport violates MLB rules. Thus, if Ohtani was found to have personally gambled on baseball, he could be in big trouble.
Mizuhara was born in Japan and relocated to the United States with his family in the early 1990s. He was raised in Southern California. He went back to Japan in 2013, where he met Ohtani when the future major leaguers were 18 years old. When Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels, he brought Mizuhara with him as his interpreter.
A report from ESPN and the LA Times states that Mizuhara met a bookie at a poker game in 2021 and started betting on credit. He allegedly got into deep debt and started borrowing money from friends and family. In 2023, Ohtani’s name surfaced on wire transfers which helped pay off the gambling debt which reached $4 million. Mizuhara claims that Ohtani “didn’t have any clue” that the money was going to a bookmaker. In an interview with ESPN, Mizuhara proclaimed Ohtani’s lack of knowledge that the payments were going to a bookie. “I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting.”
Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.