Phillies, MLB sources skeptical about Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter being fired over theft, gambling allegations

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Like every other facility in Major League Baseball, the Phillies’ clubhouse and hallways were buzzing with the news from an ESPN report that international superstar Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole as much as $4.5 million from Ohtani to cover sports gambling debts with an illegal bookmaker in California. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara on Wednesday.

Or, Ohtani knowingly covered the debts for Mizuhara, as Mizuhara originally told ESPN. Just before the story surfaced, as the Dodgers prepared to open the season against the Padres in Seoul, South Korea, Mizuhara recanted that account and said Ohtani had no knowledge.

Or, it could be something much more sinister — such as Ohtani somehow being associated with Mathew Bowyer, the Southern California bookie who is the subject of a federal investigation. The ESPN report cites several sources saying Ohtani does not gamble.

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Ohtani’s lawyers have disavowed any approval Ohtani might have given for Mizuhara to access funds:

“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” Berk Brettler LLP, the firm representing Ohtani, said in a statement.

Bowyer’s lawyers say that Ohtani never had any contact with Bowyer. Ohtani, the reigning American League MVP and a two-time MVP who signed a $700 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason, is the biggest name in the game, reportedly earning $65 million in endorsements alone. Ohtani reportedly is not facing any discipline or any investigation from or by MLB, which caused outrage among several MLB types at the Phillies spring training game Friday.

However …

Ohtani is the face of a game flagging in popularity. He is the face of numerous corporate entities which would not want to be associated with a gambling scandal. Is he too big to fail?

Like every other facility in baseball, the Phillies’ had lots of questions.

Such as:

How did the interpreter, who says he makes no more than $500,000, convince the bookie to extend him millions of dollars in credit without Ohtani’s knowledge?

“No way,” said one Phillies source.

A former MLB employee familiar with helping players handle their finances pointed out that wire transfers of even a few thousand dollars require multiple levels of authentication and approval from the account holder. Bowyer reportedly received at least $500,000 on at least two occasions. The former employee doubted that even an associate as close as Mizuhara was to Ohtani would be able to authenticate the transfers without Ohtani’s knowledge.

Logic also seems to have suspended itself in Dodgerland.

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Why would the interpreter first say that Ohtani had covered his debts, knowing full well that Ohtani would read the story, then say he lied about Ohtani’s generosity on the eve of publication?

“Yeah, a lot of people are saying, ‘That [interpreter] guy’s a piece of crap,’ ” one Phillies player said. “I’ve learned to wait and see how these things play out.”

The rules regarding athletes betting on sports are byzantine and nonuniform. The answer, of course, is for all team personnel in every sport to follow the NCAA example: No sports betting on any sport of any kind.

Major League Baseball’s gambling policy not only prohibits all league and team personnel, including umpires, from betting on baseball but also from making illegal bets on other sports. The penalty for betting on baseball is immediate and indefinite suspension, as Pete Rose can attest. The penalty for illegally gambling on other sports is up to commissioner Rob Manfred.

Since 2021, 12 NFL players were suspended for gambling, and the league stiffened its rules in September. The NCAA reportedly has issued almost 200 suspensions associated with gambling, according to a 2023 report, but, recognizing the change in mores and habits, it recently lessened the penalties for violating the policy.

Given their hypercompetitive nature, their disposable incomes, their youth, and their affinity for technology, one might expect professional athletes to be far more likely to fall to the temptation of irresponsible betting. Then again, many athletes who gamble recreationally see Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley, who each lost tens of millions to their gambling habits, as cautionary tales.

“Do I maybe like to go to a casino and play blackjack? Sure. But I’m not going to go there and play with thousands and thousands of dollars‚” said Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. “Yeah, we’re super competitive. It’s not like we’re doing crazy, crazy stuff. We’re not throwing around ridiculous money. I would never do that. And I know I would get my butt kicked.”

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Phillies general manager Sam Fuld said Thursday that the Phillies had no plans to remind the players, coaches, and staff of MLB gambling policies. After all, MLB security visited the team two days ago. Part of its presentation was a section on gambling policies, including a list of the 40 states, districts, and territories where sports betting is allowed.

California in 2022 rejected proposals to legalize sports betting, and it remains illegal. Penalties for illegal gambling in California, a misdemeanor, can be up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, though California gambling expert I. Nelson Rose last month told the San Francisco Chronicle that the odds of being charged are “near zero.”