Oshu, Los Angeles and Anaheim. These three cities are subject to earthquakes as they all find themselves within the pacific ring of fire. Aside from geological and tectonic relations, they are also connected via the face of baseball, Shohei Ohtani.
On March 20, 2024, the world of baseball felt an earthquake as the sport’s best player was found out to be in a sports betting controversy.
What sets the Japanese phenom apart from other ball players is his ability to not only throw the ball 100 mph for a strike, but he can also launch the baseball 493 feet from the bat.
In other words, he can pitch and hit in a way which is, or now was, something unheard of for over 100 years. The last player to do such a thing was none other than Babe Ruth.
Ohtani’s abilities handed him a 700 million dollar contract with the historically-rich National League club, Los Angeles Dodgers in December of 2023.
“Me and my friends, we were ecstatic. We were excited because watching him and knowing what he can do to our team is only going to make our team that much better and hard to beat,” said Dodgers fan and math teacher, Tanislado Bracamontes.
His now former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is at the center of the controversy as he is accused of “massive theft” by Ohtani’s representatives.
Prior to joining the Dodgers, the two-way player called Orange County home as he played six seasons with the Angels. Everywhere Ohtani went, Mizuhara was seen with him.
“I think that Ippei was a fan favorite among Angels fans. It’s sad to hear what happened with him in the scandal. I hope it can all get resolved and Ippei can go back with Shohei because it’s kinda like an iconic duo,” said junior and Angels fan Nico Tasso.
At 2:51 pm, March 20th, an ESPN article was published by Tisha Thompson with the headline: Dodgers fire Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter amid allegation of ‘massive theft’.
“$4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation…” the article reads.
ESPN’s article was the first report to make the controversy known to the public. Ohtani was nearly 6,000 miles away from the City of Angels, due to the Dodgers being in Seoul, South Korea.
The Blue Crew were in the South Korean capital to play a two-game series against rivals, San Diego Padres.
Both games were played midweek, the first on Wednesday March 20th and then on Thursday the 21st.
Thompson’s bombshell of an article was released around eight hours after the first game.
Monday the 18th, two days prior to the first game, ESPN contacted Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo. ESPN approached Balelo after having enough information, which was two transactions amounting to $1 million as they included the two-way player’s name.
“The transfers had been sent in September and October [2023] to the Southern California bookmaking operation of Mathew Bowyer,” according to ESPN.
Five and a half hours later, 5:30 p.m., a crisis-communications spokesman that was hired by Ohtani’s camp responds to ESPN.
“He [spokesman] says Balelo, the agent, went to Mizuhara, who ‘finally came clean to him and said that was the truth,’ and that Ohtani told Balelo he had covered Mizuhara’s debts in $500,000 increments,” according to ESPN.
However, it was not confirmed whether or not Ohtani addressed Balelo through his ex-interpreter.
ESPN then requested to interview Mizuhara directly on Monday night via phone call. The translator was in Seoul at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday during the interview. Mizuhara was not alone during the 90-minute phone call, as he was accompanied by the spokesperson.
Mizuhara explained that he met the illegal bookmaker at a San Diego poker game in 2021. His debt eventually reached $4.5 million and that he had kept it secret from Shohei who was upset when he had supposedly confessed to him.
“He [Mizuhara] describes his relationship with Ohtani, whom he first met in 2013, as ‘brothers,’ and says he spends more time with Ohtani than with his wife,” according to ESPN.
On Wednesday the 20th, the roller coaster reaches its peak in the saga.
6 a.m. PDT, 7 p.m. in Seoul, the Dodgers defeat the Padres, 5-2, as they open 2024 in the win column. Towards the end of the game, Ohtani and Mizuhara were laughing together in the dugout in the final inning.
Once all of the Dodgers players went from the dugout to the clubhouse, a meeting took place in the locker room.
“Mizuhara apologizes, according to the official, and tells the team he has a gambling addiction. A Dodgers executive, Andrew Friedman, stands up and says Ohtani had helped to cover Mizuhara’s losses, the team official and others present said,” according to ESPN.
The narrative at this point makes a complete 180, Ohtani did not certify Mizuhara’s story that he had previously brought to the press. According to the Ohtani’s representatives, Mizuhara’s confession in the locker room was the moment when Ohtani figured out about the ex-interpreter’s gambling and the missing money.
Around 3 a.m. Thursday in Seoul, nearly three hours before the publishing and publicizing of the controversy, the accusation of “massive theft” was released by Ohtani’s lawyers. Thirty minutes later, Mizhuara was fired by the Dodgers organization.
Two hours later, ESPN contacted Mizuhara, via phone, and changed the narrative. He admitted that he had lied in the Tuesday interview and that Ohtani was not aware of the gambling, debts or even repaying the debt.
In an effort to support the iffy narrative change, the same spokesman claims that Mizuhara had full command of the insight that was intended for Ohtani.
“The Ohtani spokesman tells ESPN that what has actually happened in recent days is that Mizuhara has been able to control information to Ohtani in his position as the interpreter, and that Ohtani hadn’t realized what was happening until the postgame clubhouse meeting, when a new interpreter was brought in,” according to ESPN.
“I feel like when somebody gets caught, they’ll say whatever in a moment and then they’ll go back and try to restate the story and make it more clear. It’s like if a student was cheating, and they’re like, ‘no I wasn’t cheating.’ And then they come back and be like, ‘yeah I was,’ it’s similar to that,” said Bracamontes.
A few days passed, as the Dodgers concluded their Korean business trip, the team eventually flew over the Pacific back to Los Angeles.
Ohtani, who was originally supposed to have a press conference, read a statement in a media room at Dodger Stadium.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf. And I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” said Ohtani, whose statement was translated by Dodgers employee Will Ireton.
Ohtani also stated that Mizuhara did not inform him that ESPN was developing a story.
“Ippei had never revealed to me that there was this media inquiry,” said Ohtani.
Ohtani, who is a more timid and humble personality to the public, let the world know how he felt.
“To summarize how i’m feeling right now, i’m just beyond shocked. It’s just really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point,” said Ohtani.
Despite the countless articles about the controversy and statement by Ohtani, baseball fans have unanswered questions. One in particular is; ‘Did Mizuhara have access to Ohtani’s finances? If so, why would an interpreter of a professional athlete have such access?’
The post on X by former MLB interpreter, Daniel Kim, does not officially prove that Ippei Mizuhara did indeed steal the money. Nonetheless, it does show to baseball fans that interpreters are not only interpreters, and that it is likely that Mizuhara did have access to Ohtani’s finances.
The timing of the controversy seemed to line up perfectly around the beginning of the 2024 MLB Season. Ohtani concluded his statement to the press affirming that he will play his part in Major League Baseball’s investigation and in the batter’s box.
“And the season is going to start. I’m going to let my lawyers handle matters from here on out and I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now,” said Ohtani.
