The man was fired after being accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Dodgers star for illegal gambling.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a Dodgers club spokesman confirmed that Ippei Mizuhara – Shohei Ohtani ‘s exclusive interpreter – had been fired, and mentioned “two sources” who said the amount of money embezzled was up to “millions of dollars”.

Sports news site ESPN reported that Ohtani’s representative previously said that the Japanese star himself transferred money to cover Mizuhara’s debts, and in an interview with ESPN on March 19, Mizuhara also confirmed the above information.

However, just a day later, ESPN reported that Mizuhara changed his story, admitting that he stole the money and that Ohtani had no knowledge of it.

Ohtani’s representatives have accused Mizuhara of participating in a “massive theft” of the player’s assets to gamble at an illegal bookmaker, which is the target of a federal investigation. According to ESPN, $4.5 million, or about 680 million Japanese yen, was transferred from Ohtani’s account to the bookmaker.

Ippei Mizuhara (center) is Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter. Photo: Halos Haven

Mizuhara claimed that everything was his fault, and said he had a gambling addiction. “Obviously, this is completely my fault, it was all my fault. I am ready to face all the consequences,” Mizuhara said in an interview with ESPN.

Major League Baseball rules prohibit team employees from betting on baseball or engaging in illegal gambling, but Mizuhara told ESPN he was unaware that betting with bookmakers was illegal.

“I’ve never bet on baseball. 100 percent truth. I know that rule… We had a meeting about it in spring training,” Mizuhara said.

Ippei Mizuhara (39 years old) is originally from Hokkaido, moved to Los Angeles as a child and graduated from a university in the United States. Since 2012, Mizuhara has been working as an interpreter for foreign players at the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters professional baseball team, and Shohei Otani joined the club during that time.

The two have a very close relationship. Photo: Yahoo

After Ohtani signed with the Major League Angels in the 2017 season, Mizuhara also moved to the Angels and became Ohtani’s exclusive interpreter. This season, when Ohtani moved from the Angels to the Dodgers, Mizuhara also traveled with the male player.

Mizuhara not only served as an interpreter but also took the players to the stadium and always accompanied Ohtani. This earned Mizuhara great trust and made him consider her family.

In November 2021, when Ohtani won his first MVP (player of the season) award, he mentioned Mizutani as the person who helped him overcome difficulties.

Mizuhara’s sudden departure from the team has raised concerns about the impact it will have on Ohtani, who started the season with the Dodgers after a record $700 million contract .

Many people are worried about the impact of the incident on the male player’s psychology. Photo: Sporting News