Major origin – Interpretation career revealed to be fake MLB investigates Otani’s gambling involvement, if found to be involved, suspended from playing for more than a year
Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (left) and Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) visited Korea during the American Professional Baseball Major League’s ‘Seoul Series’.
The gambling scandal of interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (40), who was known as the ‘shadow’ of Shohei Otani (30, LA Dodgers), is spreading into ‘suspicions of falsifying resumes’. It is being revealed that the university attended and work experience are incorrect or exaggerated.
Mizuhara, who was fired from the Dodgers due to a gambling scandal, was known to be a graduate of the University of California, Riverside. The media guidebook for the Los Angeles Angels, Otani’s former Major League Baseball (MLB) team, also introduced Mizuhara as a graduate of the school. However, sports media outlet Athletic reported on the 24th, “As a result of inquiries into the school, it was confirmed that no one under the name Ippei Mizuhara was admitted to this university.”
Mizuhara also worked as an interpreter for left-handed pitcher Hideki Okajima (49) in MLB Boston, and was hired by Nippon Ham, a Japanese professional baseball team, in 2013, where he first met Ohtani. However, the Boston team announced on the 23rd, “There is no fact that Okajima hired Mizuhara as an interpreter while he was playing for our team.”
Mizuhara, who has been in charge of Otani’s personal assistant since he entered the MLB in 2018, is being investigated for allegedly stealing at least $4.5 million (approximately 6.1 billion won) of Ohtani’s money and using it for illegal sports gambling. Mizuhara initially explained that ‘Ohtani paid off his gambling debt’, but later changed his statement to ‘Ohtani knew nothing.’
Mizuhara claims he has never bet on baseball. Things get complicated if he has records of betting on baseball. Even if Otani lent the money in good faith, he could still be banned from playing for more than a year for ‘supporting baseball gambling.’ The MLB Secretariat is also investigating Ohtani’s possible involvement in gambling. 섯다