Shohei Ohtani’s attorneys accuse interpreter of ‘massive theft’ tied to alleged gambling

[BigSoxFan]

Or the interpreter was the financial advisor...stranger things have happened.

Edit: one would hope his agent would advise against such an arrangement, but if they truly were besties and the interpreter was as involved in Ohtani's life as reported, I could see it as possible.

Yup. Anything is possible and he wouldn’t be the first major athlete to make a major judgment error on who has access to his money but we need to see more.

I’d be pretty surprised if Ohtani’s legal team allowed him to give signor authority, bank online access, etc. to Mizuhara without any oversight.

It still remains more likely to me that Mizuhara was a proxy between a bookie and Ohtani.

 

[joe dokes]

And just to note that there still isn't any evidence he actually bet on anything at all.

The millions going from his bank account to a bookie is evidence he was betting. (That's why one pays bookies). There may be other explanations for those payments. There may be other evidence that suggests other things. But paying a bookie is evidence that the payor was betting.

 

[joe dokes]

Yup. Anything is possible and he wouldn’t be the first major athlete to make a major judgment error on who has access to his money but we need to see more.

I’d be pretty surprised if Ohtani’s legal team allowed him to give signor authority, bank online access, etc. to Mizuhara without any oversight.

It still remains more likely to me that Mizuhara was a proxy between a bookie and Ohtani.

$5M is couch-cushion money to Ohtani. Maybe he did have an un-accountable (to his people) account or two of "mad money," as they used to call it.

 

[BigSoxFan]

$5M is couch-cushion money to Ohtani. Maybe he did have an un-accountable (to his people) account or two of "mad money," as they used to call it.

It’s possible but still less likely to me. I work for a company that, among other offerings, manages finances for high net worth individuals and we basically know everything about our clients’ financial activities. Not sure if Ohtani uses a family office or equivalent but he’s reaching an income stratosphere where doing so makes a lot of sense.

We’ll have to wait for more info to come out but I remain very skeptical of the offered explanation…assuming it doesn’t change again.

 

[jarules1185]

Ohtani's only defense at this point (and it's a great one if it's true or at least can't be proven false) is that he was stolen from. Given that's what he claimed.

If he did gamble himself, it doesn't matter if it wasn't on baseball. He already accused his close associate of stealing an enormous amount of money from him, so if he gambled on the NFL that would mean that he lied about something extremely serious.

If he doesn't change his story again and repeats it to investigators, it has to be true or at least not have any holes. It being a bad coverup would certainly be worse than just non-baseball sports gambling.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

The millions going from his bank account to a bookie is evidence he was betting. (That's why one pays bookies).

I laughed. Yeah, we're losing the forest for the trees. We're really tying ourselves up in knotts to avoid Occam's razor. I get it. He's a transcendent player. I have an outcome here that I'm rooting for but really we wouldn't treat anyone else this way if this was the evidence. Construct a hypothetical with Derek Jeter or AJ Pierzinski.

I'm not saying the evidence means we know what happened, but it certainly is enough to put some of the onus on Ohtani to convince us that it's not what it seems. If he cares to. He might not. Obviously, he still gets the benefit of the doubt if anything criminal comes of this, but that's not what we're talking about here.

 

[Rovin Romine]

It’s possible but still less likely to me. I work for a company that, among other offerings, manages finances for high net worth individuals and we basically know everything about our clients’ financial activities. Not sure if Ohtani uses a family office or equivalent but he’s reaching an income stratosphere where doing so makes a lot of sense.

We’ll have to wait for more info to come out but I remain very skeptical of the offered explanation…assuming it doesn’t change again.

ESPN reported it saw two wires for $1M in September and October of 2023, and Mizuhara said there were 8 or 9 wires for about $500K ending in October of 2023.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39784809/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-mizuhara-theft-line

So, how much do we think Ohtani had on hand, in cash, in 2023 before he signed the Dodger's deal, anyway?

From age 18-22 he played for the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Per B-Ref it looks like his US baseball income was around $10M up to the end of 2022, plus a $2M signing bonus.

In 2023, the Angels paid him $30M, so it seems like enough cash was coming in during the period when the wires went out. And he obviously has endorsements which could drive up that figure considerably.

I'm guessing that means there's enough liquid cash to cover $4.5M in 2023. But even so, after taxes, that's like a quarter of his MLB income.

Ohtani signed his historic contract with the Dodgers in December of 2023. However, his deferred salary means he's earning something small. I've seen it reported as $2M a year, in the immediate future. I'd personally think it weird - very very weird - if nobody reviewed Ohtani's finances with him in 2023, before or after the deal. (Or before and after he got married in February.) I'd personally think it weird if all the financial information was run verbally through Mizuhara alone - if nobody else in Ohtani's circle that reviewed his finances spoke Japanese, and/or if nobody in Ohtani's circle wasn't bilingual. Plus we know Ohtani has some English. Which'd also assume Ohtani never looked at his accounts from September 2023 to late March 2024.

But Team Ohtani's second story is that he had no idea anything at all happened until after the game on March 20th. Even though Team Ohtani, including his agent, knew about the basic accusations for 36 hours or so prior to that.

This just has a very weird shape to it.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I wonder how many different interests are vetting "his" statement

 

[BigSoxFan]

ESPN reported it saw two wires for $1M in September and October of 2023, and Mizuhara said there were 8 or 9 wires for about $500K ending in October of 2023.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39784809/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-mizuhara-theft-line

So, how much do we think Ohtani had on hand, in cash, in 2023 before he signed the Dodger's deal, anyway?

From age 18-22 he played for the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Per B-Ref it looks like his US baseball income was around $10M up to the end of 2022, plus a $2M signing bonus.

In 2023, the Angels paid him $30M, so it seems like enough cash was coming in during the period when the wires went out. And he obviously has endorsements which could drive up that figure considerably.

I'm guessing that means there's enough liquid cash to cover $4.5M in 2023. But even so, after taxes, that's like a quarter of his MLB income.

Ohtani signed his historic contract with the Dodgers in December of 2023. However, his deferred salary means he's earning something small. I've seen it reported as $2M a year, in the immediate future. I'd personally think it weird - very very weird - if nobody reviewed Ohtani's finances with him in 2023, before or after the deal. I'd personally think it weird if all the financial information was run verbally through Mizuhara alone - if nobody else in Ohtani's circle that reviewed his finances spoke Japanese, and/or if nobody in Ohtani's circle wasn't bilingual. Plus we know Ohtani has some English.

But Team Ohtani's second story is that he had no idea anything at all happened until after the game on March 20th. Even though Team Ohtani, including his agent, knew about the basic accusations for 36 hours or so prior to that.

This just has a very weird shape to it.

He does have presumably considerable endorsement earnings since he came over though, no? So, I can understand him having the liquidity for $4.5M but even if he had a segregated personal account, it would likely need to be funded from another managed account that would be on the radar of any financial advisors on his team. And that would invite questions if people are doing their job.

 

[YTF]

And just to note that there still isn't any evidence he actually bet on anything at all.

There may be. We're not privy to what those who are investigating this know or don't know.

 

[NomarsFool]

The whole saga is so bizarre. It would seem in the early days of this scandal unfolding, that Ohtani (and his team) did not realize that wiring money to cover the interpreter's debts would in and of itself be a crime. When they realized this, they then changed their story to accuse the interpreter of theft.

Now, if the interpreter really did steal the money, and they originally didn't accuse him of that until the above realization in order to do his friend a solid, that's perfectly defensible. If the interpreter didn't steal the money, and they are only accusing him of that to keep Ohtani out of trouble, well, that's pretty awful. Layered on top is the question of whether it was the interpreter or Ohtani who was gambling to begin with.

Let's hope the statement actually says something and is not a bunch of "I can't comment while it's being investigated" crap.

 

[chrisfont9]

For him to admit to sending the money, and then deny it later, sounds almost certainly like his attorneys talked him into a new story. Famous people don't often admit unflattering stuff to the media that didn't happen -- but they do retract statements when an attorney says "OMG retract your statement!" I will definitely be tracking the attorney angle. I get that people want to use all those skills they learned in civ pro and crim law and whatever -- MAKE THEM PROVE IT!! But unless Ohtani's transgression was a felony, it seems like a pretty bad idea to retract the statements. It's a wire transfer, an easily proven and documented matter. Why would this turn out better if he uses his attorneys to play hardball, than if he admitted what he did, pleaded a rather believable story about not fully understanding that it was a crime, and not pissing away his reputation as a decent person? We will see just how badly his attorneys plan to play this.

As an attorney I almost never hear anyone talk about the value of admissions against interest. Yes, they are literally against certain interests of yours, but they are invaluable for your credibility. Which matters more?? If Ohtani is facing a fine and some light brow-furrowing by both law enforcement and MLB, just take the L now, be up front about it, and save your vastly more valuable reputation. This is particularly true given his folk hero status in law-biding Japan.

[I don't believe for a moment that he bet on baseball and probably not on much else either, if anything. Also who bets on baseball? It seems like a terrible idea even compared to other forms of sports betting.]

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Do you think OJ was framed?

Clearly by someone with a smaller hand. Barry Bonds didn’t do steroids either. Omg remember that thread in the early days? LOL

 

[j-man]

Evidence Ohtani bet on MLB games. Suspension

Evidence Ohtani bet on his teams games.
Lifetime ban is the precedent.

Evidence that Ohtani bet on other sports but not baseball.
Why would there even be ANY punishment?

Basically, without proof he bet on baseball this is a huge nothingburger.

i have a insider tip bet on Hooton when they play the yankees otherwise dont bet kids

 

[Rovin Romine]

Let's hope the statement actually says something and is not a bunch of "I can't comment while it's being investigated" crap.

Odds are it will be a bunch of boilerplate can't comment on specifics but can say stuff about himself like completely denying gambling in any and all forms at all times. Highest respect for the game. Deeply embarrassed about the distraction, etc. Which is safe if true and/or his actual defense.

If his team drummed up or exaggerated the theft angle, look for the "ongoing investigation" comments, plus other soft statements like "sense of betrayal," "mislead by a friend," "was initially unaware," etc. strung together to suggest, but actually not definitively say, that he was a complete victim and had no idea what was going on, soup to nuts.

I very much doubt it will seriously attempt to set out a timeline, or to parse the prior public inconsistencies, unless there's a real, actual, and very-well-documented sacrificial lamb to be found for either story #1 or story #2.

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Starting now.

”I never bet on baseball or any other sport”

 

[E5 Yaz]

Starting now.

”I never bet on baseball or any other sport”

"I only told my fall guy to place the bets"

 

[loshjott]

View: https://twitter.com/juanctoribio/status/1772379948021428358?s=20


Juan Toribio
@juanctoribio
Dodgers beat reporter for
@MLB
dot com. Always wearing no-show socks. . Spent time at UCF. DF️

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Ohtani claims he first learned about Ippei’s gambling problem when Ippei addressed the team after the first game in Korea.

 

[jarules1185]

Way more plain spoken on the alleged theft than I expected. If for any reason that story is not completely true, Mizuhara has a lot of incentive to tell investigators what actually happened (unless he can just lay low in Japan?). That would seem a weird risk for Ohtani to take.

 

[Rovin Romine]

This seems very much a fragmented sort of denial of specific, perhaps irrelevant facts.

Ultimately a blanket denial - he did not know anything about any gambling or any payments. Ippei lied to everyone, all the way through. Completely concocted story about Ohtani helping him. Implication is that Ippei flat out stole the money without involving Ohtani at all.

But - he says he never "willfully" sent money to a bookmaker. (So perhaps the story is that Ippei lied about what the money was for, and he transferred the money for some other reason.)

There's no explanation of how the theft occurred.

If I'm an investigator, I lead with, "OK. Let's clear up how the transfer of monies from your account to the bookmaker's actually happened." And I have about a hundred questions. Including what might have caused Ohtani to question whatever con Ippei may have cooked up.

I think he's in deep shit. Maybe it ultimately won't stick to him, but this seems bad.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

I hope he told the truth. There’s some plausibility there, but I don’t know if I’m buying it.

 

[E5 Yaz]

This seems very much a fragmented sort of denial of specific, perhaps irrelevant facts.

Ultimately a blanket denial - he did not know anything about any gambling or any payments. Ippei lied to everyone, all the way through. Completely concocted story about Ohtani helping him. Implication is that Ippei flat out stole the money without involving Ohtani at all.

But - he says he never "willfully" sent money to a bookmaker. (So perhaps the story is that Ippei lied about what the money was for, and he transferred the money for some other reason.)

There's no explanation of how the theft occurred.

If I'm an investigator, I lead with, "OK. Let's clear up how the transfer of monies from your account to the bookmaker's actually happened." And I have about a hundred questions. Including what might have caused Ohtani to question whatever con Ippei may have cooked up.

I think he's in deep shit. Maybe it ultimately won't stick to him, but this seems bad.

And he did lend Ippei that much money, what was he told the money was for?

edit ... "willfully" is such a legal adviser word

 

[YTF]

Even though it wasn't much, he offered more than I thought he might. My biggest question (other than the obvious question of access) has to do with the fact that Ohtani said that his spokespeople originally said that Shohei paid off these debts because Mizuhara lied to them. If I'm told that the person I speak for has paid off huge gambling debts at the behest of his translator I'm sure as shit going to ask that person not only if it's true, but how he might want me to handle it before I offer ANYTHING up for public consumption.

 

[beautokyo]

Way more plain spoken on the alleged theft than I expected. If for any reason that story is not completely true, Mizuhara has a lot of incentive to tell investigators what actually happened (unless he can just lay low in Japan?). That would seem a weird risk for Ohtani to take.

Mizuhara as of yesterday is in hiding. No one knows where he is. Japanese press can't find him and he was last seen in Korea.

 

[Rovin Romine]

And he did lend Ippei that much money, what was he told the money was for?

edit ... "willfully" is such a legal adviser word

For prepared statements like this, you can usually brainstorm more advantageous positions/statements and then ask "why didn't they say that?"

Ohtani never said things like:
- I never wired the money.
- Ippei got access to my account without my permission.
- I didn't know about the transfers themselves.

Nor did he say anything like:
- I thought I was sending the money to a charity.
- I thought I was sending the money to a business Ippei lied to me about.

It seems like you'd want to land on one or the other to tamp down speculation. Assuming you've got a truthful statement you might then corroborate.

So this seems bad.

 

[chrisfont9]

All of your responses make me believe that this is going very poorly because the only goal of this press conference was to make the story die down. Or at least that's what the Dodgers were undoubtedly hoping the effect would be. And that is not going to happen.

 

[opes]

I'm afraid about if any more nefarious info comes out. I have a feeling he knew long ago about this with his friend that hes leading on. Its either 1 of 2 things. 1. Ohtani himself was gambling via long time friend Ippei or 2. Ippei was gambling on his own with Ohtani's money. Since the fall guy is playing out the be Ippei, He has less to lose than Ohtani obviously. I don't know what is more likely about those 2 options, but neither look good.

I mean, if it does turn out he bet on even 1 MLB game, the greatest player of our time is fucked. Stage left to out of baseball. Over peanuts to him.

 

[Traut]

As someone who has wired millions of dollars it is a process and a half. I have to go in to the bank. Submit multiple forms of ID, fill out forms, and usually do it in a branch manager’s office.

Ohtani certainly has private banking and I don’t know the rules there. But I can’t imagine banks being lax in this as it is they have liability if things go wrong.

It is not Venmo.

 

[Dewey's 'stache]

This feels like deflate-gate in that the best player of the league is facing accusations that question their integrity and ethics. Deflate-gate got blown well out of proportion and it was more so about if there was impact to the game action through the purported deflation of game balls. This feels much bigger in personal financial scope (to Ohtani) and more broadly if he bet on baseball, to his future overall and the obvious issues of the relatively wide open access to legal sport gambling. Sorry if this is captain obvious stuff, I’m just trying to get my head around it all and give it context by comparing it to a past event.

 

[ColdSoxPack]

I thought the press conference was comprehensive. I believe he trusted his friend who spoke English, where he does not, to handle his affairs and I believe his denials that he did anything wrong. Naive, but an honest guy.

 

[chrisfont9]

This feels like deflate-gate in that the best player of the league is facing accusations that question their integrity and ethics. Deflate-gate got blown well out of proportion and it was more so about if there was impact to the game action through the purported deflation of game balls. This feels much bigger in personal financial scope (to Ohtani) and more broadly if he bet on baseball, to his future overall and the obvious issues of the relatively wide open access to legal sport gambling. Sorry if this is captain obvious stuff, I’m just trying to get my head around it all and give it context by comparing it to a past event.

eh, if you want to liken it to the Pats taping other teams' signals, that probably works better, since they broke an actual rule that probably existed for some tangible reason, if not a terribly important one. Deflate-gate was completely made up horseshit from jealous losers. Someone in the Ohtani deal broke actual laws.

 

[chrisfont9]

I thought the press conference was comprehensive. I believe he trusted his friend who spoke English, where he does not, to handle his affairs and I believe his denials that he did anything wrong. Naive, but an honest guy.

OK but then this is all made up?

8:30 p.m. ET Monday (9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Seoul): The spokesman for the first time says Ohtani paid the debts on behalf of Mizuhara. He says Balelo, the agent, went to Mizuhara, who "finally came clean to him and said that was the truth," and that Ohtani told Balelo he had covered Mizuhara's debts in $500,000 increments. It's not clear whether the spokesman is saying Ohtani communicated with Balelo through Mizuhara.
The spokesman quotes Ohtani as saying: "'Yeah, I sent several large payments. That's the maximum amount I could send.'"
The ESPN reporter, knowing the spokesman worked for Ohtani, wants to hear it from Mizuhara. The spokesman says he will work on arranging that.
9:05 p.m. ET Tuesday (10:05 a.m. Wednesday in Seoul): The Ohtani spokesman confirms to ESPN that the gambling debt amounted to at least $4.5 million, which ESPN had previously learned from other sources.

I guess they are relying on the idea that Mizutani was the interpreter here and so he put all those words in Ohtani's mouth?

 

[Cotillion]

For him to admit to sending the money, and then deny it later, sounds almost certainly like his attorneys talked him into a new story. Famous people don't often admit unflattering stuff to the media that didn't happen -- but they do retract statements when an attorney says "OMG retract your statement!" I will definitely be tracking the attorney angle. I get that people want to use all those skills they learned in civ pro and crim law and whatever -- MAKE THEM PROVE IT!! But unless Ohtani's transgression was a felony, it seems like a pretty bad idea to retract the statements. It's a wire transfer, an easily proven and documented matter. Why would this turn out better if he uses his attorneys to play hardball, than if he admitted what he did, pleaded a rather believable story about not fully understanding that it was a crime, and not pissing away his reputation as a decent person? We will see just how badly his attorneys plan to play this.

As an attorney I almost never hear anyone talk about the value of admissions against interest. Yes, they are literally against certain interests of yours, but they are invaluable for your credibility. Which matters more?? If Ohtani is facing a fine and some light brow-furrowing by both law enforcement and MLB, just take the L now, be up front about it, and save your vastly more valuable reputation. This is particularly true given his folk hero status in law-biding Japan.

[I don't believe for a moment that he bet on baseball and probably not on much else either, if anything. Also who bets on baseball? It seems like a terrible idea even compared to other forms of sports betting.]

I mean... he is accusing the translator of felony crimes (felony embezzlement at the dollar amounts mentioned here) at this point. There are real consequences at the end of that street so he better hope Ippei stole the money, and doesn't have proof of anything else.

 

[ColdSoxPack]

Yes it is made up. Per the LA. Times:

“I never bet on baseball or any other sports and have never asked someone to do so on my behalf and have never bet through a bookmaker,

"Until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know this was happening. … Ippei has stolen money from my account and told lies.”

“Ippei admitted that he had used my account to pay off the debt,” Ohtani said. “At that point I went to my representatives, who found out Ippei had been lying the whole time.”

The investigation will show who is lying and who is telling the truth.

P.S. I believed BB when he said he misunderstood the rule about signal taping and I believed TB12 when he denied the footballs were deflated. So I'm 0 for 2 there.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Way more plain spoken on the alleged theft than I expected. If for any reason that story is not completely true, Mizuhara has a lot of incentive to tell investigators what actually happened (unless he can just lay low in Japan?). That would seem a weird risk for Ohtani to take.

If we find out that any of these bets were on baseball games, as the rumors are coming out, then it is Ohtani’s only play. Mizuhara is incentivized by the alibi sticking as he will be taken care of by Ohtani. Popcorn time.

As someone who has wired millions of dollars it is a process and a half. I have to go in to the bank. Submit multiple forms of ID, fill out forms, and usually do it in a branch manager’s office.

Ohtani certainly has private banking and I don’t know the rules there. But I can’t imagine banks being lax in this as it is they have liability if things go wrong.

It is not Venmo.

This part is important people. When I’ve done 12k it was an ordeal and that wasn’t $1m like yours. When my 95-yr old Uncle was being scammed and tried to just withdraw $20k he was kept there for two hours until he randomly called his son complaining how long it was taking (his son was able to stop him). I can’t imagine how this was able to occur without Ohtani being involved.

 

[j-man]

i wouild be happy to be wrong but i think he betted

 

[Van Everyman]

So the translator says to Ohtani, “After the meeting we should talk,” then announces to the team in English that Ohtani can’t understand that he is a gambler and has a massive debt and then after the meeting tells him “I stole from you to pay my gambling debts”?

None of that makes any sense at all.

 

[NomarsFool]

Maybe I've been watching too many limited series on Netflix lately, but I hope the translator isn't disappeared.

it is really, really hard to understand how the translator could give an interview and talk to the team and say that Ohtani gave him the money if Ohtani didn't. It's not like it's a subjective thing and it's not like Ohtani's not going to know. So, it seems more likely to me that Ohtani is choosing (with or without the translator's permission, I don't know) to screw over the translator. But, stealing $4.5 million is a serious crime. Does he (foolishly) think that he can say "Yeah, he stole the money, but I don't want to press charges"?

 

[opes]

So the translator says to Ohtani, “After the meeting we should talk,” then announces to the team in English that Ohtani can’t understand that he is a gambler and has a massive debt and then after the meeting tells him “I stole from you to pay my gambling debts”?

None of that makes any sense at all.

When was this?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Isn't the bookie the most likely one to take a deal from the feds/IRS at this point? Ohtani just laid down the foundation of his defense, and the translator's been all over the place.
There's always one person who will look out for themself when the shit gets real, regardless of how famous the other players in the drama are.

 

[YTF]

Isn't the bookie the most likely one to take a deal from the feds/IRS at this point? Ohtani just laid down the foundation of his defense, and the translator's been all over the place.
There's always one person who will look out for themself when the shit gets real, regardless of how famous the other players in the drama are.

Unless they are more interested in his client list than they are in him, why would the feds offer the bookie a deal?

 

[beautokyo]

Ohtani threw Ippei under the bus. Called him a liar and a thief in an official statement. And then refused any questions afterwards… I guess 700 mil is the price of a friendship…. Or if we want to create a conspiracy theory, Ohtani and Ippei were pressured into this conclusion, with Ippei getting a few million bucks from the powers above to clam up and take the fall.

 

[Rovin Romine]

I mean... he is accusing the translator of felony crimes (felony embezzlement at the dollar amounts mentioned here) at this point. There are real consequences at the end of that street so he better hope Ippei stole the money, and doesn't have proof of anything else.

Ippei can sue him for defamation, but would he?

Other than that we don't know what they've told the police. If it's even the police they told.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Unless they are more interested in his client list than they are in him, why would the feds offer the bookie a deal?

Because if Ohtani is a client, so too might other famous people. The client list would be a high-profile win.
We're all just spitballing. All I know is that when I see a press conference where a statement is read and no questions are allowed, it always makes me suspicious.

 

[Tokyo Sox]

Even though it wasn't much, he offered more than I thought he might. My biggest question (other than the obvious question of access) has to do with the fact that Ohtani said that his spokespeople originally said that Shohei paid off these debts because Mizuhara lied to them. If I'm told that the person I speak for has paid off huge gambling debts at the behest of his translator I'm sure as shit going to ask that person not only if it's true, but how he might want me to handle it before I offer ANYTHING up for public consumption.

I thought the press conference was comprehensive. I believe he trusted his friend who spoke English, where he does not, to handle his affairs and I believe his denials that he did anything wrong. Naive, but an honest guy.

This was my take. He seemed honest and straightforward and the timeline made sense. And yeah he went into a lot more detail than I was expecting.

So the translator says to Ohtani, “After the meeting we should talk,” then announces to the team in English that Ohtani can’t understand that he is a gambler and has a massive debt and then after the meeting tells him “I stole from you to pay my gambling debts”?

None of that makes any sense at all.

? That's not what he said. According to Ohtani's statement today, Ippei addressed the team postgame last Wednesday, Ohtani understood just enough of the English to realize something wasn't right, and he asked to talk to Ippei at the hotel afterwards. Not the other way around. And that's when Ippei came clean to him.

If we find out that any of these bets were on baseball games, as the rumors are coming out, then it is Ohtani’s only play. Mizuhara is incentivized by the alibi sticking as he will be taken care of by Ohtani. Popcorn time.

What are these rumors? Are they from credible sources? Not doubting you, I just haven't seen them.

 

[YTF]

Because if Ohtani is a client, so too might other famous people. The client list would be a high-profile win.
We're all just spitballing. All I know is that when I see a press conference where a statement is read and no questions are allowed, it always makes me suspicious.

I guess I never looked at a high profile win being the end game.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

What are these rumors? Are they from credible sources? Not doubting you, I just haven't seen them.

I don’t know how credible but I’ve heard two different tweets with quotes regarding Ohtani and suspicious market movement in games he pitched. That’s why I said rumor.

 

[Tokyo Sox]

I don’t know how credible but I’ve heard two different tweets with quotes regarding Ohtani and suspicious market movement in games he pitched. That’s why I said rumor.

As long as they're not the absurd ones from that TimmySmokes account, I'd be interested in seeing them if you can share.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Maybe I've been watching too many limited series on Netflix lately, but I hope the translator isn't disappeared.

Or the guy who apparently lied about his prior work and education disappeared because he's a scam artist. I haven't read all the details because frankly, it's the last thing I want to be the talk of baseball with opening day just a few days away, but I find it weird everyone seems to be ignoring the translator's shady past.