Freddie Freeman reveals how Shohei Ohtani’s scandal united the Dodgers in their World Series run (Imagn)
Long before Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani were World Series champions, things got off to a slightly rocky start. While they were in Korea to open the MLB season, the clubhouse was rocked by the gambling scandal involving Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was accused of stealing millions from Ohtani and gambling on sports with it. Major controversy ensued, with some fans even pointing fingers at Ohtani and claiming that Mizuhara was taking the fall for him.
Through it all, the LA Dodgers persevered. Looking back as champions, Freeman believes that the scandal helped push them to greatness. Via Dodger Blue, he said:
“It was a special group of us. To go out and do that, overcome so much, starting in Korea. Rallying around a teammate we just got, who was supposed to be our guy, having to rally around our guy immediately, I think set us on the right course to achieve this goal.”
