Entertainment world to follow sumo in baseball betting clampdown

As the world of sumo continues to grapple with revelations that wrestlers routinely gambled on baseball games, weekly tabloid Shukan Jitsuwa (Sep. 2) reports that police authorities are now targeting entertainers for the same illegal activity.

A former member of a gangster organization is at the center of a police investigation.

“The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department seems to know which entertainers are involved in baseball betting,” says a person related to the investigation. “And in tracking them down, it all is going back to the same former gangster. So he is the key guy in the betting scheme.”

Among those suspected to be partaking are a famous idol and an enka singer.

“The idol is a huge fan of the Yomiuri Giants,” explains a production manager at a big firm. “He’ll wager around 20 or 30,000 yen on Giants games. Even though the amounts are small, that is still betting. The enka singer owns his own team, and he loves betting. He’ll put down one million yen a week. He’s even been getting enka composers involved.” Read more

Illegal casinos in Tokyo under scrutiny after sumo betting scandal

With the illegal gambling activities of sumo wrestlers having been duly exposed in recent weeks, Weekly Playboy (July 26) reports that underground casinos are now coming under fire.

“After the story concerning sumo wrestlers and baseball betting broke, three illegal gambling operations in Kabukicho were raided,” explains one illegal casino operator. “They included an a gaming room, an Internet operation and poker game shop. I am very worried about a raid on my place.”

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Sumo world’s ties to gangsters, baseball betting have long legacy

Ever since weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho reported (in its May 27 issue) that sumo wrestlers frequently gamble on professional baseball games with organized crime members, the Japan Sumo Association has been on the defensive.

On Sunday, the association decided to dismiss 34-year-old wrestler Kotomitsuki and his stablemaster Otake. Other wrestlers and senior advisors received punishments.

Recent revelations that Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate members have been supplied with ringside seats for past matches — ostensibly so that fellow gangsters behind bars can catch a glimpse of their compatriots on television — have also soiled the image of the pastime. Read more

Williams’ return to Tigers possible at midseason

Sports tabloid Daily Sports reports that the Hanshin Tigers are investigating the possibility of bringing back left-handed reliever Jeff Williams at mid-season next year.

A fan favorite since joining the Tigers in 2003, Williams, who hails from Australia, had arm surgery after the 2008 campaign and returned this year in a limited role before another operation at midseason. Should the club determine that it will be difficult for him to return as a player, they are also looking at offering him a position as U.S.-based scout.

Williams shared indicated to the tabloid in November that his doctor believed that he should be able to pitch again in May. A senior manager from the Tigers office explains: “We want him to contribute to Hanshin one way or the other. While the language barrier may exist, he has been a role model in our bullpen.” (K.N.)

Female knuckleballer Eri Yoshida battles Carp, wants to join NPB

The top of the order for the Central League’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp could not contain right-handed knuckleballer Eri Yoshida, Japan’s first female professional baseball player, during an exhibition game in Hiroshima on Wednesday, reports Daily Sports (Nov. 23).

The seventeen-year-old Yoshida, nicknamed “Eri-chan,” who recently left the Kobe 9 Cruise of the Kansai Independent League, was on the mound against the “best lineup” the Hiroshima Carp were capable of fielding during the club’s “Fan Festival” on Monday at Mazda Stadium.

The exhibition was played under a special rule in which Yoshida would be declared the winner if she was able to hold the Carp to two or fewer runs in one inning. Read more

Dynamic duo? Yan and Vogelsong possible saviors for the Hanshin Tigers

Following their failure to acquire fireballing lefty Juan Morillo from the Minnesota Twins, the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers may turn to a couple of former foreign players to fill out gaping holes in their bullpen, reports Tokyo Sports (Nov. 20).

The team’s skipper, Akinobu Mayumi, has requested action by the front office in replacing the roles served last year by middle relievers Jeff Williams and Scott Atchinson. Right-handers Esteban Yan, who was a starter for the Tigers in 2007, and Ryan Vogelsong, also a member of the rotation that year, are considered to be strong candidates.

An individual close to the team speculates: “There must be some kind of hidden issue with Juan, as he does not compete at the major-league level while being able to throw at 167 kilometers an hour. Foreign players with unknown elements leave us with a lot of anxiety. So the chances of success by those who used to play for us is higher.” Read more

Mench hopes teammate’s bat is ticket back to lineup

Hanshin Tigers’ outfielder Kevin Mench, recently sent back to the team’s farm system for lackluster performance (his second trip), is said to be ordering a new bat to find a way to break out from his extended slump, reports Daily Sports (May 20).

During a practice session at the Naruohama Ball Park, Mench found that he liked the grip and feel of a bat used by a teammate, catcher Akihiro Yano. He has ordered the manufacturer (Mizuno) to fabricate the same model, which has a thicker contact area than his current stick. The bat should arrive by the end of May.

Mench has been using a model that weighs 850g, but this new model is 20g heavier. Further, his current bat has its weight towards the grip, limiting its head speed and not allowing his power to be applied optimally. It is hoped that he will experience a drastic turnaround at the plate in spite of his slow start — one in which he has hit .148 with no home runs over 15 games. Read more

Let the good times roll in Miyazaki

One of the really nice things about the current special toll arrangement being offered by the various members of the Nippon Expressway Companies group is that for a uniform toll of just 1,000 yen, you can follow the exit ramps to male playgrounds all over this land — from Hokkaido, Aomori and Gunma to Ishikawa, Osaka, Mie, Ehime and Fukuoka.

And oh yes, adds Shukan Jitsuwa (May 14), that also includes Miyazaki. The capital city of this Kyushu domain, currently in the limelight thanks to its celebrity governor, is also where the Yomiuri Giants hold their baseball spring training camp. It is also said to boast a system of “take-out snacks” where the snack you take out is taken to bed. And it’s rumored some Giants players may even go there to take a few nocturnal practice swings.

Shukan Jitsuwa’s reporter is directed to Ueno-cho, which is located in the back of the neon district close to the central station. Read more

Koshien Stadium gets face lift

The venerable home of the Central League’s Hanshin Tigers will this season unveil the second phase of its ongoing four-year improvement plan, which blends old-style baseball aesthetics with modern conveniences, according to the team’s Web site.

Koshien Stadium, which opened in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture in 1924, is adding a 250-meter by 1.2-meter LED “Koshien Liner Vision” display board; seventeen special izakaya box seating sections for parties of 4 or 5 people to enjoy the action from behind third base; “Royal” corporate suites that extend out onto a balcony; and bag storage spaces for the steeply aligned outfield bleachers, or “Alps” seats. Read more

The big pitch: college star from Japan tries big leagues

TOKYO – Numerous learning experiences await every rookie working his way through the minor leagues. For Robert Boothe, last season with the Ogden Raptors, a rookie league team within the Los Angeles Dodgers system, featured challenges different from those of his teammates.

Born to an American father and Japanese mother in Japan, Boothe was in new territory — and it had nothing to do with the fact that the northern Utah city of Ogden has only one sushi shop near the ballpark.

A game in late June included an on-field brawl after Ogden’s leadoff man was plucked with the second pitch of the game from the starting pitcher for the Idaho Falls Chukars. A scuffle resulted with both benches emptying. “I heard that if one goes we all go,” remembers the burly 23-year-old right-handed pitcher during an interview from a coffee shop in Tokyo just prior to his departure for this year’s spring camp. Read more

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