Not to be a cynic, but one of the reasons I believe Ohtani's version of events is that a guy who is making at least $50 million per year in endorsements and who has a $700 million contract in place (with probably expectations of something north of $500 million even a couple of years ago) isn't going to get into debt for $4.5 million with some dodgy bookie in California.
If he's a closet gambler, I'm sure he would have ways to get his fix from trusted sources in Japan, where he is more likely to have his privacy protected and respected.
|