Shohei Ohtani, his translator, and the $180m betting scandal that hangs over baseball’s biggest superstar as he seeks World Series glory…..
Shohei Ohtani had something penciled in for Friday, October 25, long before the Los Angeles Dodgers secured their spot in the World Series. Long before he made more MLB history. Long before Freddie Freeman’s historic grand slam decided an intoxicating curtain raiser against the New York Yankees.
It is a 30-mile drive from Dodger Stadium to Santa Ana, California where, back in June, Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges.
Ohtani’s former interpreter – and close confidant – admitted to stealing nearly $17million from the MLB star to fund his spiraling gambling debts.
He is thought to have placed 19,000 wagers between December 2021 and January 2024 – an average of nearly 25 a day. He won $142m but lost more than $180m.
Mizuhara now faces a maximum punishment of 33 years in prison; his sentencing was slated for October 25 at 2pm PT – three hours before Jack Flaherty threw the first pitch of Game 1.
Last month, however, the hearing was postponed to December – at Mizuhara’s request. That cleared Ohtani’s diary. By Friday night, his only appointment was a first date with the Yankees.
Mizuhara’s guilty plea had already cleaned Ohtani’s slate. Major League Baseball closed its investigation and echoed the authorities’ findings: its biggest star was nothing more than a victim. Case ‘closed’.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, said they were ‘pleased that Shohei and the team can put this entire matter behind them and move forward in pursuit of a World Series title.’
Both statements rather undersold the mysterious web of debt and deceit that entangled the greatest player this sport has seen – perhaps since Babe Ruth.Back in December 2023, the two-time MVP had signed the richest contract in team sports history when he joined the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700million deal. Within months, however, he was tied up with an illegal bookmaker, ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ and a Hollywood law firm whose clients range from Prince Andrew to Leonardo DiCaprio.Ohtani stayed tight-lipped, except to protest his innocence. Through attorneys. And then via a 650-word statement in Japanese, when the 30-year-old said he was ‘saddened’ and ‘shocked’ by the ‘lies’ and betrayal of ‘trust’.
His words were translated into English by Dodgers staffer Will Ireton. That had been Mizuhara’s job ever since Ohtani joined Major League Baseball in 2018. He was his interpreter but also, it’s claimed, his trainer, chauffeur and best friend.
They shared a locker, they ate at the same table, and they sat beside one another on the bench. They have been compared to ‘peanut butter and jelly’.
Hence why questions lingered, even after Mizuhara was fired and Ohtani was formally cleared of any wrongdoing. The two-way star was exonerated in April but the case cast a shadow over his first season. Some fans still wonder: is there more to this story?
Earlier this week, Ohtani was involved in another record-breaking deal. The Japanese superstar is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.
He reached uncharted waters last month and the ball that Ohtani sent over the fence was recently put up for auction. It sold for $4.39million, smashing the previous highest fee for any sports ball.
It was an eye-watering illustration of Ohtani’s value to the Dodgers – and his sport. It was small change, though. At least compared to the figures sloshing between his bank account and the gambling underworld over recent years.
Ohtani, the authorities found, had no idea his old friend was dipping into his millions. And, back in November 2023, the two-way star was unaware that he was being watched, too. Mizuhara received a message that laid bare the dark thread running through this curious case. It was from ‘Bookmaker 1’; Ohtani was identified only as ‘Victim A’.
