The Yomiuri Giants did not need a gambling scandal hovering over the team's preparation for the Central League Climax Series, which began Saturday against the Hanshin Tigers. But early this past week that is what they got.
Giants second-team pitcher Satoshi Fukuda was found to have bet on games, and the team indicated all its players would be questioned in the aftermath of the Fukuda revelation.
Hopefully for the Giants and their fans, no other players will be found of wrongdoing, but the incident brings to mind another infamous episode involving money — the biggest in Japanese baseball history. Known as the "Black Mist Scandal," it took place between 1969 and 1971 when several players, including star pitchers of the Nishitetsu Lions and other Pacific League teams, were punished for accepting money to throw games.
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