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Major League Baseball has commenced a probe into allegations of theft and illegal gambling involving Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star player Shohei Ohtani.
After media reports surfaced last week regarding Mizuhara’s links to an illegal bookmaker, he was released from the Dodgers setup with immediate effect.
There has been no suggestion of any gambling activity from Ohtani, but the Japanese pitcher has become embroiled in this controversy due to his close relationship with his interpreter. The duo have been close friends since the 29-year-old moved to the US to play for the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
Since then, ‘Shotime’ signed for the Dodgers in a $700 million, 10-year deal, in December last year. He made his debut for the Dodgers in the recent victory against the San Diego Padres in South Korea, as part of MLB’s Seoul Series, one of the four international stops the league is embarking on throughout the season.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei (Mizuhara) from the news media,” said a statement from the league commissioner’s office on Friday.
“Earlier today, our Department of Investigations began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Claims of theft from Shohei Ohtani’s representatives
Sports betting is still illegal in California, despite the rapid proliferation of sportsbooks across many US states in recent times. MLB players and staff are permitted to gamble on sports other than baseball but transactions with illegal bookmakers are strictly prohibited. Any violation, as alleged in this case, would leave those involved exposed to sanctions from the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred.
Despite initial claims from Mizuhara that the highly popular baseball icon had assisted him to clear debts racked up from gambling activity, lawyers for the Dodgers man have briefed on a “massive theft”.
“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,” read the statement from Berk Brettler LLP on Wednesday.
Image credit: MLB/X
