SEOUL, South Korea — Shohei Ohtani’s translator and close friend was dismissed by the Los Angeles Dodgers after being accused of illegal gambling and stealing from the Japanese baseball star. The IRS announced Thursday that they are investigating the individual.
Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, 39, was released from the team on Wednesday due to reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged connections to an illegal bookmaker and debts exceeding $1 million. The team was in Seoul this week for Ohtani's debut with the Dodgers, and Mizuhara was in the dugout during their season-opening win over San Diego.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we found out that Shohei has been the victim of a significant theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” law firm Berk Brettler LLP stated on Wednesday. The firm declined further comment the next day.
Sports gambling is not legal in California, even though 38 states and the District of Columbia permit some type of it. The IRS verified on Thursday that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the suspected illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation by the IRS's Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard stated that he could not give more details.
The Associated Press was unable to reach Mizuhara for comment, and it was uncertain if he had hired an attorney.
Diane Bass, Bowyer’s lawyer, told the AP that Mizuhara was placing bets with Bowyer on international soccer, but not baseball.
“Mr. Bowyer never had any contact with Shohei Ohtani, in-person, on the phone, in any way,” she said Thursday. “The only person he had contact with was Ippei.”
Bass confirmed the criminal investigation into Bowyer and mentioned that his home was searched in October. No charges have been filed.
“I have been in touch with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, trying to resolve the case,” she said.
Mizuhara is well-known to baseball fans as Ohtani’s constant companion, interpreting for him with the media and at other events since Ohtani came to the U.S. in 2017. He even acted as Ohtani’s catcher during the Home Run Derby at the 2021 All-Star Game. When Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels to sign a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December, the club also hired Mizuhara.
The Dodgers stated that they were "aware of media reports and are gathering information."
“The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated,” the statement said. “The team has no further comment at this time.”
Ohtani was in the lineup for the second game of the series on Thursday, hitting a single in the first inning as the designated hitter for the Dodgers. The Dodgers lost 15-11.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Mizuhara had a meeting with the team on Wednesday but declined to provide additional details. He mentioned that he did not know Mizuhara’s whereabouts and said a different interpreter was being used.
“Anything with that meeting, I can’t comment,” Roberts said, adding that “Shohei’s ready. I know that he’s preparing.”
Ireton, who works for the Dodgers, went to the pitcher Yamamoto in the first inning to help communicate. Ireton was previously Maeda’s translator from 2016-18.
Security at the Gocheok Sky Dome was increased on Thursday, with police and dogs checking the hallways hours before the game began.
The news about the Ohtani interpreter came a day after a reported bomb threat against Ohtani. Police confirmed they found no explosives.
Mizuhara told ESPN on Tuesday that he bets on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and college football. MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from betting, even legally on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.
Mizuhara told ESPN, “I never bet on baseball. That’s 100%. I knew that rule … We have a meeting about that in spring training.”
Ohtani’s fame has spread worldwide, even though he has mostly stayed away from the media. His recent marriage to Mamiko Tanaka surprised fans from Japan to the U.S. Although he had elbow surgery last September and will not pitch this season, he will be used as a DH, and there is a possibility he will play in the field. He went 2 for 5 with an RBI in his Dodgers debut.
Mizuhara was often seen talking with Ohtani during Wednesday’s game, apparently discussing his plate appearances using a tablet computer.
Mizuhara was born in Japan and moved to the Los Angeles area in 1991, so his father could work as a chef. He went to Diamond Bar High School in eastern Los Angeles County and graduated from the University of California, Riverside, in 2007.
After college, Mizuhara was hired by the Boston Red Sox as an interpreter for Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima. In 2013, he returned to Japan to translate for English-speaking players on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. That’s where he first met Ohtani, who joined the team that same year.
After Ohtani signed with the Angels in 2017, the team hired Mizuhara to work as his personal interpreter. ESPN said Mizuhara told them this week he has been paid between $300,000 and $500,000 per year.
ESPN said it spoke to Mizuhara on Tuesday night, at which point the interpreter said Ohtani had paid his gambling debts at Mizuhara’s request. After the statement from Ohtani’s attorneys saying the player was a victim of theft, ESPN says Mizuhara changed his story Wednesday and claimed Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.
Mizuhara said he accumulated over $1 million in debt by the end of 2022, and his losses continued to grow from there.
“I’m terrible (at gambling). Never going to do it again. Never won any money,” Mizuhara said. “I mean, I dug myself a hole and it kept on getting bigger, and it meant I had to bet bigger to get out of it and just kept on losing. It’s like a snowball effect.”
This would be the biggest gambling scandal for baseball since Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation for MLB by lawyer John Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team.
The rules about gambling in the MLB are displayed in all locker rooms. If someone bets on baseball, they can be banned from the sport for a year. The punishment for illegal betting on other sports is decided by the commissioner.
