Since his arrival in the U.S. in 2017 to play for the Los Angeles Angels, Shohei Ohtani has proven to be among the elite in the game, if not the top player. The Japanese superstar has performed as a hitter and a pitcher, equal at both. In December, Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, making him the highest-paid athlete in any sport in North America.
But the story at hand is not really about what a great ballplayer Ohtani is or how well he expects to play in 2024. Or even his contract. This story is about gambling.
Enter Ippei Mizuhara, an American-born Japanese translator who has worked closely with Ohtani since he first came to Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2017 with the Los Angeles Angels. Mizuhara was hired by the Angels to act as Ohtani’s personal interpreter and moved to the Dodgers alongside Ohtani this summer.
But on March 20, the news broke that Mizuhara had been fired by the team, with Ohtani’s lawyers alleging the interpreter committed massive theft against the MVP in connection to an illegal sports betting outfit.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” said law firm Berk Brettler in a statement to the L. A. Times.
Times sources claim Mizuhara lied to the Dodgers about inquiries into the situation, which led to the firing. The team issued the following statement:
“The Dodgers are aware of media reports and are gathering information. The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated. The team has no further comment at this time.”
The scandal first came to light on March 18 when ESPN, who had been pursuing the story for months, asked MLB officials, representatives for Ohtani and the team why the player’s name was found on two separate wire transfers of $500,000 that were sent in September and October of last year to Matthew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker based in southern California who is currently under investigation from federal authorities.
Later that same day, it was confirmed that the money was transferred to pay for debts accrued by Mizuhara. Then on March 19, the total debt for the interpreter was revealed to be $4.5 million.
The outlet arranged a 90-minute phone interview with Mizuhara hours later, in which he said that he had first met Bowyer at a 2021 poker game in San Diego. From there he had begun placing bets on credit with the bookie, but not on baseball. Instead, he wagered on international soccer, NBA, NFL and college football, with debts quickly piling up.
By late 2022 and into early 2023, Mizuhara was forced to turn to family and friends in attempts to pay back the debt, until he ultimately came to Ohtani for help.
“I explained my situation,” he told ESPN. “And obviously (Ohtani) wasn’t happy about it, but he said he would help me.”
Mizuhara said Ohtani had no knowledge of Bowyer being an illegal bookie and didn’t ask. The duo then sat down and sent several $500,000 payments to Bowyer over multiple months, disguising them as loans in attempts to avoid scrutiny.
Once the last payment was made, Mizuhara said that things mostly went back to normal with the promise that the interpreter would eventually pay Ohtani back.
After the interview was over, the Dodgers then opened the 2024 MLB regular season March 20 in Seoul, South Korea against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers won the game 5-2, with Ohtani clocking two hits.
After the game, the team held an internal meeting, and Dodgers executives told the players that the story would soon be made public. Mizuhara then came clean to the team about his addiction, and according to ESPN, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman told the team that Ohtani had covered his debts.
After the meeting, Ohtani then indicated that this version of events was not true, and asserted that he had not known about any money missing from his account.
A spokesman for Ohtani then went to ESPN and told them not to publish Mizuhara’s interview, saying that the interpreter had lied. Shortly after, the Berk Brettler statement was released, contending that the money was stolen.
Later that day (March 20), Mizuhara then reversed much of his previous statements, and when asked for clarification, said that he had been advised not to comment further but would not say by whom.
Mizuhara denied several questions relating to the accuracy of his translations, saying that he had never intentionally misinformed Ohtani about the issues at hand. When asked whether he took the money without Ohtani’s knowledge, Mizuhara did not respond.
Several law enforcement agencies denied involvement in the matter, including the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, or the district attorney’s offices for both Los Angeles and Orange counties.
MLB issued a statement March 22 saying that its Department of Investigations “began their formal process investigating the matter.”
