Talk about a wild 24 hours for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Making his debut for his new team in Seoul, South Korea, Ohtani had two hits, an RBI, and a stolen base amid a ton of fanfare in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. The hysteria around the newly-married Ohtani playing in his native continent has been palpable. He was treated like a rockstar when landing in Seoul. Walking through the airport, it was as if he was a member of The Beatles during the 1960s. You’d think everything in his life would be peachy at this given moment.
Thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, news just broke which may put him in a bit of a sour mood. According to a report from The Los Angeles Times (courtesy of Gustavo Arellano, Nathan Fenno, Paul Pringle, and Adam ElMahrek), Ohtani’s longtime interpreter — Ippei Mizuhara — is being accused of “massive theft” by Ohtani’s legal team. The report revealed that the accusation involves millions of dollars.
West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler released a statement which read:
“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.”
An Orange County native named Mathew Bowyer has reportedly been the center of an investigation. Bowyer is alleged to be an illegal bookmaker, and the report suggests that Mizuhara allegedly placed bets with Bowyer. It was also revealed in the report that the Dodgers promptly fired Mizuhara. He had been with the team throughout Spring Training and was even with the team last night in the dugout during the season opener.
Mizuhara was born in Japan and moved to Southern California as a young child. He initially worked with the Boston Red Sox as an interpreter for pitcher Hideki Okajima. In 2017, the Los Angeles Angels hired him to work directly with Ohtani. He had been with the iconic player ever since.
