U.S. Major League Baseball said Friday it has launched an investigation into a sports gambling allegation involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
MLB "has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations" involving Ohtani and Mizuhara from the news media, it said in a statement, adding its Department of Investigations earlier Friday "began their formal process investigating the matter."
The move came after the Dodgers effectively fired Mizuhara earlier this week following reports he was involved in an illegal sports gambling operation and at least $4.5 million of Ohtani's funds had been transferred to a bookmaker to cover Mizuhara's debts.
Sports network ESPN said Mizuhara, 39, initially stated Ohtani had agreed to the payment but later changed his story to say Ohtani knew nothing about it.
Representatives of Ohtani, 29, have accused Mizuhara of engaging in a "massive theft" of the player's money to place bets with a bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation, media reports said.
The scandal surfaced when the Dodgers were in Seoul earlier this week for their season opener against the San Diego Padres.
Neither Mizuhara nor Ohtani have commented publicly about the allegation.
Ohtani, a two-time American League MVP, joined the Dodgers from this season on a 10-year, $700 million contract after playing for the Los Angeles Angels. He led the league in home runs last season.
Mizuhara began working for the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2013, the same year Ohtani joined the Hokkaido-based team as a rookie. Mizuhara, who attended high school and university in California, came to the United States as an interpreter for Ohtani, who joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
The Los Angeles Times said the bond between Mizuhara and Ohtani was "so tight that the Dodgers two-way star was rarely, if ever, seen in public without Mizuhara in tow," describing their relationship as "two peas in a pod."
Former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose was banned for betting on baseball. News site Politico said, "whether it involves Ohtani or not, it's already baseball's biggest gambling scandal since Pete Rose in 1989."
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IRS investigating fired interpreter Mizuhara: report
Dodgers fire Ohtani's interpreter over theft, gambling allegations
