Is Shohei Ohtani too big to fail?

“I have a fondness for this area, for this neighborhood,” said Vargas, while sitting on top of the roof near his scaffold. “And being able to contribute a piece of work that I think is about unity and about Angeleno pride, cultural pride, I feel like this mural bridges many cultures together.”

In the mural, Ohtani faces Dodger Stadium and is depicted both hitting and pitching. Just steps away is Mr. Ramen, which plans to offer specials when Ohtani hits a home run.

“We’re hoping that with the excitement of the town, with all the Ohtani fans coming in and the mural, that we can kind of play off of it,” said Ryusei Yamamoto, who with his two brothers co-owns Mr. Ramen, which was started by their parents.

“As an Asian American, we don’t have too many actors or athletes or famous people that are headlining for a lot of things,” said Yamamoto, who was wearing a Dodgers jersey. “So to see a fellow Asian person do it, I just think it ... attracts a lot of people, it makes people motivated. It gives people dreams, definitely.”

History has shown that players can often return to the sport and overcome problems involving sexual scandals and even domestic abuse, but for MLB players, gambling may be harder to recover from, financially speaking.

“The fact that baseball has been such an important part of our culture, that Major League Baseball takes a hard-nosed position on it. As this unfolds, it’s a real dilemma if there is an association with Ohtani,” said Roesler, the Beverly Hills celebrity agent.

Roesler represented Pete Rose from 1998 to 2003, after the former professional player and manager was banned from MLB for life after detailed evidence emerged that Rose gambled frequently on baseball games as a player and manager.

While CMG helped Rose with various endorsement deals and events like autograph signing, Roesler said, the ban effectively meant Rose couldn’t wear a Cincinnati Reds jersey before the public or benefit from MLB’s many relationships. “It hurt it a lot. We couldn’t do anything that involved Major League Baseball.”

Said USC’s Carter: “The bright flashing light is always integrity of the game — seemingly far more so than other scandals or criminal behavior. Any development that lessens fan confidence in the legitimacy of an event’s outcome is of paramount importance to those doing business in sports. When fans lose confidence, the result can be devastating to a team or league’s cash flow until confidence is restored.”