“I’m just beyond shocked. It’s really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point.”
In the first comments made to the media following last week’s bombshell report of illegal gambling involving his interpreter, Los Angeles Dodgers star slugger Shohei Ohtani said he had no knowledge about any wrongdoings committed by his close friend and now-former translator, Ippei Mizuhara.
Ohtani had been mostly quiet after stories were published by both the Los Angeles Times and ESPN regarding allegations that Mizuhara was involved in a Southern California gambling ring and may have stolen millions from him.
On Monday afternoon, Major League Baseball’s biggest star addressed the scandal from the Dodgers Interview Room at Dodger Stadium alongside a new interpreter. No cameras were permitted inside for the event.
The reigning American League MVP, who recently inked a record-setting deal with the Dodgers this past December, said he was “very sad and shocked” by the allegations made against someone whom he trusted.
Saying he was limited in what he could discuss, Ohtani was emphatic that he “never bet on baseball or any other sports” nor had he ever asked anyone to do so on his behalf. “I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” he said through his interpreter.
The revelation about Mizuhara’s alleged involvement in illegal gambling came only a few days ago, Ohtani said, when members of the media reached out to his representatives to inquire about the baseball star’s possible involvement.
While the team was in South Korea, ESPN sat down with Mizuhara for an exclusive interview in which he confessed to racking up gambling debts and said Ohtani had agreed to cover his losses.
Mizuhara later walked back that version of events prior to the story’s publishing, and a spokesperson for Ohtani alleged the Dodgers star was an unknowing victim taken advantage by a person he trusted.
On Monday, Ohtani reaffirmed that he had made no agreement and had no knowledge of any payments made from his accounts to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt.
“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said. “I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
He added that he was unaware of Mizuhara’s “gambling addiction” or his ongoing financial problems.
Ohtani said his longtime friend admitted to him that he had used the athlete’s wealth to pay off his debts without his consultation. At that point, the 29-year-old phenom began contacting his legal team and the Dodgers organization for instructions on how to proceed, he said.
His team has since encouraged him to focus on the MLB season at hand and allow for the legal system to handle the ongoing drama behind the scenes.
Mizuhara, 39, had been Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend for several years, having met the two-way star when he was a member of a Japanese baseball club. He served as catcher for the slugger during the Home Run Derby at the 2021 MLB All-Star Game, accompanied him during hundreds of interviews, and planned to follow him from his previous team, the Los Angeles Angels, to their crosstown rivals in the National League.
After the accusations of theft came to light, more scrutiny has been directed toward the Southern California native’s background and resume.
A confirmed graduate of Diamond Bar High School in eastern Los Angeles County, Mizuhara had previously been identified as a graduate of UC Riverside. The university has since come forward to say it has no record of him graduating from the school, according to The Athletic.
His biography also identified him as the translator for Hideki Okajima when the Japanese pitcher played for the Boston Red Sox in 2010. The team now says that never happened either.
Both Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the Southern California man identified as the alleged bookmaker, are under criminal investigation by the IRS.
Betting on baseball in any way is banned by the MLB, as is using an illegal bookmaker or offshore website. Any sports bets placed in California are illegal, as the state has not legalized it.
Major League Baseball has launched an investigation into Mizuhara’s alleged involvement in sports gambling, including whether the Dodgers star was a victim of “massive theft” or a willing participant in the scheme.
During his first public comments on the scandal, Ohtani alleged that the person he once trusted to get his message to the world had been concealing dark secrets that not even he knew about.
“In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies,” Ohtani stated plainly.
Since joining the Dodgers for the 2024 MLB season, Ohtani has one run on three hits in the team’s first two regular season games. He made his Dodger Stadium debut Sunday evening in a 5-3 victory over his former team, notching a walk and a strikeout in two plate appearances.