This is not a very well known event, thus it does not constitute the use of Rule 9.

LE CONTEXT:

Masaaki Ikenaga was one of the most promising pitchers in the NPB until he got caught up in what was known as the Black Mist Scandal.

Ikenaga debuted for the Fukuoka Lions (now the Saitama Lions) in 1965. As an 18 year old he went 20-10, with an ERA of 2.27. He won the PL Rookie of the Year and made the all star game, he would continue that dominance throughout the 60s, making the all-star team every year and never failing to post a winning record despite the Lions slide through the standings. Then at the end of the 69 season, everything went downhill.

A Lions relief pitcher, Masayuki Nagayasu, was found to have taken bribes from the yakuza to throw games. He would be banned from baseball for life by the NPB. Either in a bid to save his skin, or out of bitterness, he blew the lid off of the entire scheme. Seven Lions players, as well as players from eight other teams, were implemented in the scandal, which also involved fixing auto races. One of those caught up in the scandal was Ikenaga.

During the hearings surrounding the scandal, Ikenaga would admit to taking the money, but more so to scam the yakuza rather than throw games, pointing out that his stats had not diminished whatsoever during the last year. However, the revelation that he had taken the money was enough for the NPB, and the 23 year old pitcher was banned for life. He would consistently campaign for reinstatement, eventually being reinstated by the league in 2005. He is the only one involved to have been reinstated.

All in all, 10 players were banned for life, 6 were suspended, one of whom was blackballed, and 4 were warned, including Tigers pitcher Yutaka Enatsu, who would have his Hall-of-Fame case tainted by the scandal. Rumors would swirl about players on the 3 teams unaffected, the Hiroshima Carp, Tokyo Giants and Kobe Braves, especially the Giants, who were known for using team pressure to silence the authorities when their players broke the law.

The Fukuoka Lions would suffer the most from the scandal, as they lost most of their support, had to spend most of the 70s under comically cheap and unprepared ownership, and would become the laughing stock of the league. The team's fortunes would change when they were bought by Seibu and moved to Saitama in 1979, where they would go on to dominate the Pacific League for most of the next two decades. Fukuoka would be without a team for 10 years, until supermarket chain Daiei bought the Osaka Hawks and moved them to Fukuoka, where they still play to this day, now owned by the Softbank Group