Ex-MLB All-Star casts doubt over Shohei Ohtani’s gambling innocence: ‘The circumstances don’t add up’

Shohei Ohtani has declared that he has never bet on baseball or sports in general and has never willingly paid a bookie, but not everyone believes that story.

Otani claims that his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole money from his bank account to gamble, but this comes after Mizuhara publicly said that Otani helped him pay off his gambling debts. Ta.

Mizuhara has since admitted that he lied in his first interview with ESPN, and Ohtani continues to say that Mizuhara “was stealing money and lying.”

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But former MLB catcher AJ Pierzynski says the story is questionable.

“First of all, I want to give Shohei the benefit of the doubt because he is incredibly talented. But… how can I have multiple large deposits withdrawn from my account? I don’t know,” Pierzynski said. Dan Dakich on an outkick. “I know Shohei probably didn’t see it every day, but he has people who look at things like that. An accountant who realizes, ‘By the way, you’ve got $500,000 nine times.’ I don’t think there was.” I’m going to lose my deposit? Nine?” The first one might be, “OK, I missed something.” But nine of them are $4.5 million? That’s where it feels a little weird to me…”

Ohtani, a two-time All-Star, isn’t necessarily in that rare category: “I know a lot of players who have been extorted from money for giving them access to things they shouldn’t have access to.” says.

But it usually comes from the people who actually handle the money, “such as financial officers and agents who can access the finances and change the numbers,” Pierzynski said.

“But for me, with Shohei, the translator, who was his best friend. And the other weird thing is, the day this all came out, he said in the dugout, ‘Hey, buddy, we’re friends. I was like, “Let’s go out.” To dinner. And then right after the game, all of a sudden they say, “No, this guy stole $4.5 million from you without you knowing?” The situation doesn’t suit me. ”

Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on during the Los Angeles Dodgers press conference at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Rob Reiter/MLB Photo via Getty Images)

Ohtani said he didn’t know about Mizuhara’s gambling until the team’s series in Seoul, but Mizuhara “told people around my agent and team that he was communicating with me on this account. But that wasn’t true.” Otani said.

“When we went back to the hotel and had a one-on-one conversation with him, I discovered that he was deeply in debt,” Ohtani said in a statement earlier this week. “During that interview, it became clear that Ippei had admitted that he had been using my account to send money to bookmakers.At that moment, something clearly absurd was happening, and I I contacted my agent at this point.

“When I was finally able to talk to my agent, he realized that Ippei had been lying the whole time, and that’s when I started contacting the Dodgers and their lawyer. The Dodgers and their lawyer knew at that moment, too.” “Well, they were duped. My lawyer recommended that the proper authorities handle this matter because this is theft and fraud.”

Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on during the Los Angeles Dodgers press conference at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Rob Reiter/MLB Photo via Getty Images)

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Major League Baseball is investigating the matter. Mizuhara had served as Otani’s personal interpreter since he entered MLB with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. They were so inseparable that Mizuhara would participate in Otani’s bullpen sessions before games and play catch in the outfield.

FOX News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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