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Shohei Ohtani is Major League Baseball’s biggest star playing for the National League’s biggest brand. He’s also involved in the sport’s biggest controversy as Spring Training nears its end.
The superstar is wrapped up in a gambling scandal that involves longtime translator Ippei Mizuhara. The blockbuster story has MLB fans wondering if Shohei Ohtani has been betting illegally on games.
News of a reported $4.5M in wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation became public earlier this offseason.
Initially, a spokesman told ESPN that Ohtani had transferred the money to cover Mizuhara’s debts. Then, the story changed. New claims suggested that his interpreter was to blame, making the payments unbeknownst to the newly named Dodger.
Mizuhara has allegedly wired at least $4.5 million from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation in order to cover his debts.
Mizuhara has accepted responsibility, saying on Wednesday “Obviously, this is all my fault, everything I’ve done… I’m ready to face all the consequences.”
He has since been fired.
Despite that admission of guilt, many around baseball don’t believe things are adding up.
Did Ohtani know about the activity? Was the debt actually his to begin with?
Social media sleuths did their part to connect the dots, with one particular X thread appearing to show evidence of Shohei Ohtani throwing games while with the Angels.
Bookie Matthew Boyer, the man at the head of this scandal, is said to have openly talked of Ohtani being a client in order to boost business – doing little to silence the speculation.
The MLB declined opening an investigation into the slugger at first, but they’ve since changed course. Still, it maintains that it does not have enough evidence to pursue punishment at this moment in time.
Shohei Ohtani will comment on the situation Tuesday.
But it seems he’s taking the easiest possible route!
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez says that he will NOT be taking questions from the media. Instead, he will release a statement on the situation as a means of telling the story.
Shohei Ohtani will not be taking questions from the media, I’m told. Instead, he will read a statement at 2:45 pm PT.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 25, 2024
That statement is scheduled to be read at 5:45 PM ET (2:45 PM local time in Los Angeles).
That reading might allow some insight into the situation at hand, but it likely won’t do much to quiet the noise of Ohtani’s potential knowledge of the controversy.