Banned Legend Pete Rose Chimes in on LA Dodgers Star Shohei Ohtani's Ongoing Gambling Scandal
Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies legend Pete Rose, who is banned from baseball for life, said he wishes he could pin his gambling scandal on an interpreter like Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
With Shohei Ohtani's gambling saga still playing out in real time, it's difficult to tell how the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar will make out in the long run.
Ohtani made a long-awaited public statement in front of the media Monday, claiming he has never bet on any sport and that his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was the one to blame. Mizuhara has been labeled as a thief, a liar and a gambling addict, while Ohtani is being positioned as a victim who lost out on millions of dollars.
One person who doesn't seem to buy that story is Pete Rose.
MLB's all-time hits leader was at a restaurant over the weekend watching March Madness with a man named Matt Thrasher. The two filmed a video that wound up on former LSU quarterback and Florida Marlins third baseman Josh Booty's Instagram story, during which Rose addressed the Ohtani controversy.
Rose placed multiple bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win while he was playing for and managing the club from 1985 to 1987. He agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989, but has been campaigning for reinstatement since 1992.
While that battle has been fruitless thus far, Rose still takes any chance he gets to stand up for himself, and the Ohtani situation is no different.
Rose was a 17-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion with the Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. With 4,256 hits, a .303 bating average and a 79.5 WAR for his career, Rose would have been a shoo-in to make it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame if not for his lifetime ban.
Instead, Rose has been barred from Cooperstown for decades.
Ohtani appears to be on the fast track to the Hall of Fame himself, winning two MVP awards and positioning himself as the modern Babe Ruth. It doesn't seem like Ohtani will be exiled alongside Rose at the moment, but MLB and the FBI are still investigating the illegal gambling scheme he was tied to.
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