Shohei Ohtani Denies Any Knowledge of Interpreter's Gambling

Shohei Ohtani, the two-way player and Major League Baseball’s top international attraction, denied on Monday he’d ever bet on baseball or any other sport. He is entangled in an investigation of his former interpreter by the feds and the sport for allegedly illegally gambling on sporting events.

Ohtani, who had right elbow surgery and won’t pitch this season, addressed the issue during a media conference Monday at Dodger Stadium prior to a Freeway Series exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels, his former team.

“I have never bet on baseball or on any other sports,” Ohtani said. “I have never asked anyone to do so on my behalf. I’ve never been to a bookmaker to bet on sports.”

In his first words about the controversy Ohtani said that his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen money from him.

“I was shocked,” Ohtani added. “Up to a couple of days ago I didn’t even know this was happening. Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”

The news about Ohtani came to light last week when the Los Angeles Dodgers split a two-game series against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Ohtani played his first six seasons with the Angels, where he teamed with friend Mizuhara.

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers this past December and Mizuhara went with him. 

Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers in between games in South Korea after reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal California bookmaker.

“The first time I heard about this was after the first game [in Korea] when we had a team meeting in the clubhouse,” Ohtani said. “During the meeting I kind of understood what was going on and that there was something amiss.”

ESPN interviewed Mizuhara Tuesday, and the interpreter said his gambling losses ballooned past $1 million and that Ohtani paid his gambling debts. After the statement from Ohtani’s attorneys that the interpreter stole money from Ohtani to make the bets, Mizuhara backtracked on his story and claimed Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and did not transfer money to bookmakers. Mizuhara said he didn’t bet on baseball.

“Ippei never revealed to me there was this media inquiry,” Ohtani said. “Ippei told the media and my representatives that I’d paid off a debt for a friend. Upon further questioning it came out that it actually was Ippei who was in debt and I had been paying off that debt. All of that has been a complete lie.”

Ohtani said he had a personal conversation with Mizuhara, which was the first time he heard of the interpreter using the ballplayer’s funds to cover gambling losses. “When we went back to the hotel to talk, that’s when I found out he had massive debt,” Ohtani said. “And he admitted during that meeting that he was using my account to send money to a bookmaker. That’s when I contacted the Dodgers and my representatives.”

California is a state where gambling on sports is still illegal. MLB players and employees are allowed to legally bet on sports, but baseball bets are a different story. Gambling on a game where a player is not involved would incur a one-year suspension, while a bet on a game they are involved in results in a permanent suspension.

(This article has been updated throughout with more quotes from Ohtani.)