Last week, after the LA Dodgers kicked off the 2024-2025 season in South Korea, some news dropped about their new star player, Shohei Ohtani. Soon after the opening day win against the Padres, it was revealed that Ohtani had fired his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, while the team was still in South Korea.
What seemed as seemingly inauspicious news quickly revealed a darker undertone. Ohtani alleged that he had fired Mizuhara because his translator had stolen a significant amount of money from Ohtani. Ohtani, expressing disappointment and blame against his translator, said: “I’m very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted has done this.”1
Allegedly, Mizuhara stole over $4.5 million from Ohtani, made in payments of $500,000.2 Naturally, this staggering amount of cash drew the attention of the sports world, and considering Ohtani’s heritage, this news was undoubtedly a global issue. It was soon revealed that these payments were sent to a southern California bookmaker; considering the severity of these potential allegations and facts, Ohtani instantly blamed Mizuhara and denied any involvement in sports betting.3
Despite his complete denial of any involvement in sports betting, Ohtani’s involvement in the situation is still unclear. Many pundits have contemplated the facts and realized that Ohtani may not be entirely innocent; as Mizuhara stated, Ohtani transferred the money to the bookkeeping company. Dank Dakich of Outkick stated that Ohtani’s story “just doesn’t add up.”
Soon after all of this information was released, the Internal Revenue Service and Major League Baseball opened their respective investigations into the issue.4 It was a shock for many to realize that the IRS was also getting involved, but it was later revealed that some wire fraud may have occurred. Allegedly, Ohtani initially signed off on the transfer only to realize that he couldn’t classify the wire as a “loan, and that’s why Mizuhara was the one required to complete the transaction.5
While obviously not having the same criminal implications, MLB’s investigation could significantly affect Ohtani if it is revealed that he took part in any wrongdoing. Ohtani is fresh off signing the largest contract in the history of sports: “The Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700-million-dollar deal, with Ohtani deferring $680 million until after the contract expires in 2033.”6 Any potential discipline from the league could cost Ohtani not only his ability to play on the field but also his ability to collect the deferred payments he requested to delay paying the high-income tax required in California.7
This story is still very fluid as the investigations continue. The results will be fascinating, as it is obvious the MLB does not want to lose one of its most important and best players in the league on and off the field. Ohtani is credited for the increased viewership of the MLB in Asia. In Taiwan, ratings for Angels games were 84% higher than those for non-Angels games. MLB’s Ohtani-related social media posts in South Korea drew 179% greater engagement than others.8
This leaves many wondering: was Shohei Ohtani really just an innocent victim who was taken advantage of by someone he believed was a friend? Or was Ohtani actively participating in betting $4.5 million and looking to get out of a bad situation by scapegoating a person who was just doing his job? Regardless, people all over the world are anticipating the upcoming results of the investigations into this scandal.
- Shohei Ohtani says his interpreter stole money from his account and ‘told lies’ (nbcnews.com) ↩︎
- MLB Opening Day is already embroiled in a gambling scandal (msnbc.com) ↩︎
- Why the Shohei Ohtani story is so concerning for baseball and sports | CNN ↩︎
- Shohei Ohtani Interpreter Now Under IRS Investigation, As Discrepancies In His Background Story Are Uncovered (deadline.com) ↩︎
- Id. ↩︎
- Shohei Ohtani contract: California controller calls for congressional intervention on Dodger star’s deferrals – ABC7 Los Angeles ↩︎
- Id. ↩︎
- Shohei Ohtani Is What Baseball Needs | TIME ↩︎
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