Cody Snavely
Yesterday, Major League Baseball officially announced that it had begun investigating the allegations involving two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and his translator Ippei Mizuhara.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2024 season in Seoul, Korea, against the San Diego Padres in a brief two-game series, a bombshell story was dropped by the LA Times and ESPN.
In the story, it was rumored that Ohtani’s translator, Mizuhara, was a gambling addict, which had gotten him into roughly $4.5 million in debt.
Ohtani’s bank account was connected to making payments through wire transfers to an illegal gambling bookie, Matthew Bowyer, who is under federal investigation.
However, the story has already undergone numerous changes, which fellow DodgersBeat writer Steve Webb discussed in a previous post.
How does this impact Ohtani & the Dodgers?
The Dodgers have been the subject of numerous MLB investigations over the years for former players. However, this case is a bit more complex.
In 2021, Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer was placed on administrative leave as the league looked into the reports of sexual/domestic violence that the right-hander allegedly committed.
In 2023, the Dodgers faced a similar case with left-handed pitcher Julio Urias, who was arrested in September for domestic violence. In both cases, the players were placed on leave with pay but taken off the roster and deemed ineligible to play.
For Ohtani, it is a different case. Major League Baseball announced that Ohtani would continue to be on the Dodgers’ active roster unless something drastic occurred during the investigation.
MLB has not placed Ohtani on administrative leave or the restricted list, so he remains an active player. Thus, he will remain ready to play when the Dodgers open up the domestic Opening Day in LA against the Cardinals.
The Dodgers are all too familiar with this. Since 2020, the Dodgers clubhouse and PR team have dealt with numerous cases/storylines that have followed the team.
A lot of credit should be given to Dave Roberts, who, despite the controversies throughout his tenure, has continued to manage a winning team with a focus on winning.
Did Ohtani place bets?
Currently, there is absolutely zero evidence that Ohtani placed any bets, whether legally or illegally. However, speculation throughout social media remains high.
The gambling connection to Ohtani is placed entirely in Mizuhara’s first story, in which he explained that Ohtani paid off his debt through wire transfers.
However, other than Pete Rose, is there any other recent situation to compare with if Ohtani himself did bet?
In 2015, Miami Marlins’ Jarred Cosart was fined after it was discovered that he gambled illegally on sports other than baseball. Betting on baseball is punishable with a one-year ban.
Per the MLB rule book included in the collective bargaining agreement prohibits “any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee” from betting on baseball in any capacity or making illegal bets involving other sports. With that, players found to have made illegal wagers on sports other than baseball are subject to punishment that is at the commissioner’s discretion.
This would now put current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a stressful spot to figure out a decision for arguably the most popular athlete in the world.
What happens next?
The next step in this is only known once all the facts are released and the federal government and the league finish their investigation, which could take a long time.
If you’re a Dodgers fan who expects this storm to pass after a month, I have some bad news for you. This story and investigation will continue to follow the team, the organization, and fans for months.
More information comes out every day, and expect the Dodgers and Ohtani to be a storyline throughout the 2024 season.
However, the Dodgers, who have more to focus on, begin their next set of games at home. They host the Angels, Ohtani’s former team, for two games before traveling to Anaheim for the final game of Spring Training.
By Thursday, the Dodgers will open a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals, where Ohtani will make his regular-season home debut amid the controversy surrounding the team.
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