Shohei Ohtani’s (Los Angeles Dodgers) interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the club for illegal gambling and tampering with Ohtani’s money, and his former mentor, former Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon, was skeptical of his agent, Nez Valero.
Mizuhara, whom Ohtani first met when he joined the Nippon Professional Baseball Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013, has been a shadowy figure since his arrival in the majors in 2018, serving as more than just an interpreter and personal assistant to his manager. He was also a constant presence in the baseball world, from assisting with training to analyzing power, and Otani trusted him to be there for him.
During the federal investigation of Matthew Boyer for running an illegal sports betting operation, it was revealed that Mizuhara owed a large amount of money to Boyer’s bookie. Mizuhara was found to have transferred a total of $4.5 million from Otani’s account to Boyer’s account.
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers organization, leaving Ohtani devastated.
According to a report by Japanese sports media outlet Sports Hochi on Feb. 2, 스포츠토토 the former Maddon manager appeared on a television program and expressed his thoughts on Mizuhara’s gambling scandal.
Maddon, who managed Ohtani’s former club, the Angels, is well aware of the relationship between Ohtani and Mizuhara. “Ohtani would ask Mizuhara to make online payments or entrust him with small amounts of cash,” he said.
Mizuhara would sneak large sums of money out of Ohtani’s account and send it to gamblers. “Ohtani’s agent didn’t know what was going on,” Madden says.
After being stabbed in the back by a trusted friend, Ohtani hasn’t been living up to expectations. As of today, he is batting just 2-for-6 (8-for-30) with three doubles, five RBIs, five runs scored, and one stolen base. He hasn’t hit a home run in his 171-game major league career.