My mother is Japanese, so I speak his language and am familiar with his culture, but I’ll refrain from interpreting his carefree demeanor here. As I wrote the other day, the extreme measures he’s taken to maintain privacy have made him a mystery to virtually everyone in his orbit, including his teammates. Any attempt to speculate on his behavior wouldn’t even count as educated guesswork.

What can be said without any hesitation is that however money from Ohtani’s account was moved into an alleged illegal bookmaker’s, Ohtani is acting as if he’s entirely unaffected by it.

Former Angels manager Phil Nevin used to call Ohtani the mentally-strongest player he had ever been around, and how else could Ohtani be described after what he did on Thursday?

In his first home opener at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani was two for three with a double, a walk and a run scored. His fifth-inning single registered an exit velocity of 113.0 mph, the hardest-hit ball by a Dodger since 2021.

Scandal? What scandal?

Watching Ohtani banter with his teammates on the bench in the exhibition Freeway Series against the Angels earlier in the week, Roberts sensed he would be unaffected by the controversy.

“He’s handled it with flying colors,” Roberts said. “I just don’t think it’s going to affect performance. I really don’t.”

Shortly after Ryan Yarbrough registered the final out, Ohtani slipped on a headset for an interview with NHK, which televised the game in Japan.

“I think I’m seeing the ball well, and I was able to go in relatively calm,” Ohtani told the station.

Ohtani, who spoke only after games he pitched when he played for the Angels, addressed the remaining press contingent in the clubhouse. With 50 to 100 reporters rushing in to hear what he said, several players complained about how crowded the locker room was. About the only person who didn’t seem irritated was Ohtani.

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