The Los Angeles Dodgers have just won their first game in the Shohei Ohtani era, but that's not the biggest story related to the National League West ball club at the moment. The firing of Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been the talk of the town of late for extremely intriguing reasons.
Mizuhara has reportedly been fired as the Dodgers star's interpreter on Wednesday over an issue involving his alleged sports betting activities. The initial story from Mizuhara goes that the Dodgers' two-way superstar had sent at least $4.5 million to cover the debt incurred by Mizuhara from betting on illegal bookies. However, in a surprising change in this seemingly fluid story's narrative, Ohtani's spokesman later disclaimed Mizuhara's statement amid theft accusations against the interpreter.
Mizuhara's statement was heard by ESPN during an interview last Tuesday. And in it, Mizuhara said that the Dodgers superstar knew about the gambling debts and that he helped Mizuhara get out of the financial hole by paying off the credit. Mizuhara also made it categorically clear that Ohtani had no involvement in his betting activities outside of paying for the debt.
“Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn't happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara said (h/t ESPN). “He decided to pay it off for me.”
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again,” Mizuharra added.
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani caught in the middle of a brewing controversy
Ohtani is undeniably one of the biggest and brightest athletes not just in North America but in the world, and any controversy of such nature, even if he's not directly involved in, doesn't look good. It is safe to say that he'd rather not hear his name get mentioned in such a story, but that's simply unavoidable given how closely he worked with Mizuhara. The two were often seen together not just in baseball but outside of it as well.
Mizuhara also said that while he wagered on the NBA, NFL, and college football, he never put any money into baseball games.
“I never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That's 100 percent. I knew that rule, he added. “We have a meeting about that in spring training.”
The Dodgers won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes in the MLB offseason when they signed him to a titanic 10-year deal worth $700 million that also includes a deferred payment plan for his salary.
Money is never going to be a problem for the Japanese star. The $4.5 million that was allegedly transferred from Ohtani's account to a bookmaker was just a drop in the bucket for someone like Ohtani, but this controversy concerning his now ex-interpreter is, to a degree, sullying the great image of the two-time American League Most Valuable Player and three-time MLB All-Star.
In 2023, his final season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani hit .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs while going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA on the mound.
Follow Us
Subscribe