Dodgers remove Ohtani’s interpreter following claims of “massive theft” from Japanese celebrity.

 

South Korea’s Seoul. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers sacked the close friend and interpreter of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani due to charges of theft and unlawful gambling.

Ippei Mizuhara, a 39-year-old interpreter, was fired by the team on Wednesday as a result of reports from ESPN and the Los Angeles Times regarding his purported connections to an illicit bookmaker. Ohtani is making his Dodgers debut this week while the club is in Seoul, South Korea, and Mizuhara was in the Los Angeles dugout for the team’s opening-day victory.

Ohtani, the Dodgers designated hitter, was frequently spotted conversing with Mizuhara, who appeared to be talking about his at-bats on a tablet computer.

 

Law firm Berk Brettler LLP said in a statement on Wednesday that “while 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.”

Despite the fact that 38 states and the District of Columbia permit some sort of sports gambling, it remains illegal in California.

Since Ohtani arrived in the United States in 2017, Mizuhara has been a well-known figure to baseball fans as his frequent companion and interpreter when he interacts with the media and makes other appearances. He even played catcher for Ohtani in the 2021 All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby. The Dodgers recruited Mizuhara concurrently with Ohtani, who signed a $700 million, ten-year contract with the team in December.

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The Dodgers issued a statement stating that they “are gathering information and are aware of media reports.”

The announcement stated, “The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated.” “At this time, the team has nothing further to say.”

Before Thursday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that Ohtani would not be sitting out.

“That wasn’t taken into account,” Roberts stated. “We intend to play baseball here. We focused well on the baseball game yesterday, and we’ll continue to do so today.

 

Dodgers

Roberts declined to provide further details despite acknowledging that Mizuhara met with the team on Wednesday. He declared that he was unaware of Mizuhara’s whereabouts and that an alternate interpreter would be assigned.

 

He stated, “Shohei’s ready,” but he couldn’t remark on anything related to the meeting. I’m aware that he’s getting ready.

Hours before the game began on Thursday, police and canines patrolled the hallways of the Gocheok Sky Dome as part of increased security measures.

A day after Ohtani was the target of a rumored bomb threat, news of the Ohtani interpreter broke. Police reported not finding any explosives.

Mizuhara revealed to ESPN on Tuesday that he was placing bets on college football, the NBA, the NFL, and international soccer. MLB rules forbid players and staff members from placing bets on the sport, even when they do it lawfully. They also forbid them from betting on other sports through unlicensed or offshore bookmakers.

 

“I don’t wager on baseball,” Mizuhara declared to ESPN. That is true to 100%. I was aware of that regulation. We will discuss that at our spring training meeting.

Mizuhara could not be reached for comment by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Born in Japan, Mizuhara relocated to the Los Angeles region in 1991 to follow his father’s career as a chef. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2007 after attending Diamond Bar High School in eastern Los Angeles County.

Following graduation from college, Mizuhara worked as an interpreter for Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima for the Boston Red Sox. He went back to Japan in 2013 to serve as an interpreter for English-speaking Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players. He initially got to know Ohtani there; the same year, Ohtani joined the team.

 

In 2017, the Angels signed Ohtani, and they brought in Mizuhara to serve as his personal interpreter. According to ESPN, Mizuhara informed the publication this week that his yearly salary ranges from $300,000 to $500,000.

When ESPN reported that it spoke with Mizuhara on Tuesday night, the interpreter said that Ohtani had settled his debts related to gambling at Mizuhara’s insistence. Following Ohtani’s attorneys’ assertion that the player was a victim of theft, ESPN reports that Mizuhara revised his account on Wednesday, stating that Ohtani was unaware of the debt related to gambling and had not sent any money to bookies.

By the end of 2022, Mizuhara claimed he owed over $1 million, and his losses only got worse.

“I’m not good at gambling. I promise not to do it again. Never won any money, according to Mizuhara. “I mean, I dug myself a hole, and I couldn’t get out of it without having to gamble more, so I just kept losing. Like the snowball effect, that is.

 

This would be the worst gambling scandal in MLB since Pete Rose consented to a lifetime suspension in 1989 following an investigation by attorney John Dowd for MLB, which revealed Rose wagered heavily on the Cincinnati Reds to win between 1985 and 1987 while managing and playing for the team.

The MLB gambling policy, which is displayed in each locker room, forbids players and staff members from placing bets on baseball, even when they do so lawfully. It also forbids them from betting on other sports through unlicensed or offshore bookmakers. Baseball wagerers risk a one-year suspension from the game. The commissioner may impose penalties for unlawfully wagering on other sports.

Even though Ohtani has remained primarily media-shy, his fame has grown across the globe. His recent marriage to Mamiko Tanaka stunned admirers both in Japan and the United States. Despite not being able to pitch this season due to surgery he had done on his right elbow in September of last year, he will be used as a designated hitter and may even play in the field. In his debut game, the season opener in Seoul versus the San Diego Padres, he went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

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