SEOUL: Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after the Japanese baseball star’s representatives alleged he had been the victim of “a massive theft” reported to involve millions of dollars.

Ippei Mizuhara, who is also a close friend of Ohtani and often seen with him, is said to have stolen money from the player to place bets with a suspected illegal bookmaker.

“The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated,” a Dodgers spokesperson said in an email to AFP.

The Dodgers are in Seoul for a season-opening series against the San Diego Padres and manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani will play on Thursday evening as planned.

“Shohei’s ready,” he said. “I know that he’s preparing. He’s in a hitter’s meeting right now and he’s going to be ready for tonight’s game.”

Roberts said the possibility of Ohtani missing the game was “not considered.”

He refused to comment on reports that Mizuhara addressed the team after their Game 1 win over the Padres on Wednesday, and could not confirm the interpreter’s current whereabouts.

Mizuhara was seen in the dugout during the game talking to Ohtani.

The Los Angeles Times reported that West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler LLP had looked into Mizuhara’s actions after the newspaper learned that Ohtani’s name had surfaced in a federal investigation of alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

“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 said in a statement.

The LA Times, citing two anonymous sources, said the money involved “was in the millions of dollars” and Mizuhara allegedly used it to place bets with Bowyer’s operation.

ESPN reported questions had arisen around “at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani’s bank account” to an associate of Bowyer.

ESPN said that multiple sources, including Mizuhara himself, told ESPN that Ohtani doesn’t gamble and that the funds covered Mizuhara’s losses.

Major League Baseball’s gambling policy bars “any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee” from betting on baseball or making illegal bets on any other sport.

While sports betting has been legalised in a majority of US states, online betting and retail sports books remain illegal in California.

Japan’s Ohtani, who has been likened to a modern-day version of Babe Ruth, joined the Dodgers in December in a 10-year deal worth $700 million after playing six Major League Baseball seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

According to the Times, federal agents raided Bowyer’s Orange County, California, home last year.
He has not been charged with a crime.

Diane Bass, a lawyer for Bowyer, told the newspaper that he “never met, spoke with, or texted, or had contact in any way with Shohei Ohtani”.

Mizuhara, who was born in Japan but brought up in Southern California, became Ohtani’s personal interpreter when he signed with the Angels in 2017 and followed him to the Dodgers.

He has been a close companion of Ohtani, who has emerged as the global face of MLB.

As Ohtani’s star has risen, Mizuhara has been by his side, the two often arriving together at the ballpark for games and training, and spending time together away from team facilities.

Mizuhara got his first job in baseball with the Boston Red Sox, interpreting for Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima after graduating from college in 2007.

He returned to Japan to work for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013 and met Ohtani, who joined the club from high school the same year.

Mizuhara is well known in Japan and news of his dismissal was met with shock, with his name trending on X, formerly Twitter.

AFP