Shohei Ohtani, his translator, and the $180 million betting scandal that looms over baseball’s biggest superstar as he seeks World Series glory

Shohei Ohtani had something planned for Friday, Oct. 25, long before the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a spot in the World Series. Long before he made MLB history. Long before Freddie Freeman’s historic grand slam settled the intoxicating pall over the New York Yankees.

It’s a 30-mile drive from Dodger Stadium to Santa Ana, California, where Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud back in June.

Ohtani’s former interpreter and close confidant admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from the MLB star to cover his mounting gambling debts.

He is believed to have made 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024 – an average of almost 25 per day. He won $142 million but lost over $180 million.

Mizuhara now faces a maximum sentence of 33 years in prison; his sentencing was scheduled for October 25 at 2:00 pm PT—three hours before Jack Flaherty threw out the first pitch of the first game.

However, last month the hearing was postponed to December – at the request of Mizuhara. This cleared Ohtani’s diary. By Friday night, his only meeting was his first date with the Yankees.

Mizuhara’s guilty plea has already cleared Otani’s list. Major League Baseball closed its investigation and repeated authorities’ findings: its biggest star was nothing more than a victim. The case is “closed”.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, said they were “glad Shohei and the team can put this whole affair behind them and move on in their quest for a World Series title.”

Both statements rather underestimate the mysterious web of debt and deceit that has ensnared the greatest player the sport has ever seen, perhaps since Babe Ruth.

Back in December 2023, the two-time MVP signed the richest contract in team sports history when he joined the Dodgers on a 10-year deal worth $700 million. Within months, however, he was linked to an illegal bookmaking operation, The Real Housewives of Orange County, and a Hollywood law firm whose clients range from Prince Andrew to Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ohtani remained silent, only declaring his innocence. Through lawyers. And then in a 650-word statement in Japanese, the 30-year-old said he was “saddened” and “shocked” by the “lies” and betrayal of “trust.”

His words were translated into English by Dodgers employee Will Ireton. This has been Mizuhara’s job since Ohtani joined Major League Baseball in 2018. He was his translator, but also, allegedly, his coach, driver and best friend.

They shared a locker, ate at the same table and sat next to each other on a bench. They have been compared to “peanut butter and jelly.”

That’s why questions remained, even after Mizuhara was fired and Otani was officially cleared of any wrongdoing. The two-way star was acquitted in April, but the case overshadowed his first season. Some fans still wonder: is there more to this story?

Earlier this week, Ohtani struck another record deal. The Japanese superstar is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.

He reached uncharted waters last month, and the ball Ohtani sent over the fence was recently put up for auction. It sold for $4.39 million, breaking the previous record for the highest price for any sports ball.

It was a stunning illustration of Ohtani’s value to the Dodgers – and his sport. However, it was a small change. At least compared to the numbers that have been flowing between his bank account and the gambling underworld in recent years.

Ohtani, authorities determined, had no idea his old friend was making millions. And back in November 2023, the two-way star didn’t know he was being watched, too. Mizuhara received a message that revealed a dark thread running through this curious case. It was from Bookmaker 1; Ohtani was identified only as “Victim A.”

“Hey, Ippy (sic), it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you don’t answer my calls. “I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Victim A) walking his dog,” the message said. “I’ll just go up and talk to him and ask him how can I contact you since you’re not answering?” Please call me back immediately.”

By then, authorities said transfers from Ohtani’s accounts had reached $500,000 at a time. The first fraudulent transfer – for $40,000 – appeared two years earlier, but agents connected the dots back in 2018, when Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels.

He reportedly met Mizuhara in 2013. Five years later, they went to a bank together in Arizona. The translator helped Ohtani open an account and then posed as his friend to trick the bank into giving him access to the funds.

Another key turn came in 2021 when Mizuhara met Matthew Boyer at a poker game in San Diego. Soon he began playing at an illegal bookmaker. He soon found himself in debt.

The translator was reported to be over $1 million in debt by the end of 2022. He soon found himself reportedly $4 million in the red. At some point, the translator changed the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account so that it was linked to his phone number. So the bank will call him to verify the bank transfers.

Boyer’s home was raided by federal agents last October, shortly before Ohtani signed the largest contract in baseball history. Mizuhara moved with him through Los Angeles, and soon his problems followed Ohtani, from the Angels to the Dodgers.

Ohtani’s name was reportedly found on two bank transfers to Boyer totaling $1 million. Initial explanation? He made payments to cover Mizuhara’s debt, which was initially estimated to be approximately $4.5 million.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles was preparing for the start of the 2024 regular season. The Dodgers’ first game against the Padres took place in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Before the game on March 20, Ohtani received a bomb threat. Police searched the Gocheok Sky Dome before concluding it was a hoax. But inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse, another fuse had lit.

The game continued and Mizuhara sat in the dugout. However, later that evening the translator admitted that he was addicted to gambling. Club executive Andrew Friedman reportedly told his team that Ohtani was covering for his friend.

However, within a few hours, Mizuhara’s story began to unravel. Ohtani’s lawyers said they “have discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”

The filing came through Berk Brettler LLP, a flamboyant Hollywood law firm that has represented some of the biggest names in show business. It is alleged that Ohtani criticized Mizuhara after he asked what was said in the clubhouse.

The interpreter was fired by the Dodgers, and then, the next month, Mizuhara was charged with stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani “to finance his insatiable appetite for illegal sports betting.”

A few weeks later, it was revealed that Boyer’s accomplice, to whom Mizuhara transferred the money, was Real Housewives of Orange County actor Ryan Boyajian. Irony.

Few athletes guard the privacy of their personal lives as carefully as Ohtani. Now he is forever tied to reality TV.

During spring training, Ohtani announced his marriage to former basketball player Mamiko Tanaka on Instagram. None of his teammates even knew he had a girlfriend.

Glimpses behind the scenes of Ohtani’s life are rare, which only adds to the mystery of the case. As does his dependence on a translator. But the language barrier never stopped Ohtani from playing behind the plate. This remarkable story did not ruin his hopes of leading the Dodgers to glory.

The World Series will end by early November. A few weeks later, Mizuhara learns his fate, and this curious chapter of Otani’s career may finally come to an end.