Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers Go Silent After Interpreter Theft Accusation

SEOUL — For years, it was once just about unattainable to look Shohei Ohtani any place with out his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, only some steps away. On Thursday, following Mizuhara’s abrupt firing over his involvement with unlawful playing, it was once virtually unattainable to look Ohtani in any respect.

Ohtani didn’t input the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse all the way through the 50 mins journalists had been allowed within sooner than Thursday’s Seoul Series finale towards the San Diego Padres. Nor did he such a lot as undertaking into the hallway main from the clubhouse to the dugout, the place greater than 3 dozen cameras from English-speaking, Japanese and Korean information shops awaited all the way through batting follow. His first public sighting got here when he emerged onto the on-deck circle within the backside of the primary inning, ripping a first-pitch unmarried off Joe Musgrove and simply lacking a couple of house runs within the 15-11 loss.

The two-time MVP was once guarded at his locker by means of a couple of group public members of the family officers postgame, telling Japanese journalists “otsukaresama” — which loosely interprets to “thank you for your hard work” — as he exited in the back of probably the most officers with out answering any questions sooner than the membership boarded its flight again to Los Angeles.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara after Ohtani’s representatives accused him of enticing in a “massive theft,” the use of the participant’s cash to position bets with an allegedly unlawful bookmaker below federal investigation.

The accusation by means of Berk Brettler, the company representing Ohtani, adopted an inquiry from The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper discovered Ohtani’s identify surfaced in an investigation of an Orange County resident named Mathew Bowyer. According to the newspaper, Mizuhara, 39, positioned bets with Bowyer.

Mizuhara didn’t reply to a request for remark. Ohtani isn’t these days dealing with self-discipline, in line with an MLB professional, neither is he believed to be below lively investigation by means of the league.

No gamers spoke publicly pregame because the barren house clubhouse swelled with journalists. Few indicators remained of Mizuhara’s temporary tenure with the franchise. As Ohtani strolled in the course of the dugout Thursday evening, he did so with out his standard better half.

“It kind of is what it is,” Mookie Betts mentioned postgame. “I hope Sho is good, but at the end of the day, you have to make sure we take care of your job. Like I said, no matter what cards we’re dealt, you have to go play them.”

The Dodgers misplaced the overall recreation of the collection, 15-11. Ohtani, who went 1-for-5 with a sacrifice fly in the second one inning, didn’t solution questions postgame and was once escorted out of the clubhouse by means of a group PR professional.

There was once no attention of getting Ohtani take a seat Thursday’s recreation, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned, noting that Ohtani was once sitting in a hitter’s assembly as Roberts spoke with journalists at round 3:15 p.m. native time. An bizarre day nonetheless featured a standard regimen.

Much, in fact, had modified over the past 24 hours. Ohtani have been noticed at the broadcast giggling with Mizuhara all the way through the 9th inning of Wednesday evening’s season-opening win as though not anything was once amiss. The scene felt standard, a celebratory second after Ohtani’s first recreation together with his new membership after signing a 10-year, $700 million maintain the Dodgers this previous wintry weather. The symbol of Ohtani’s time within the most important leagues, of his ascent to international stardom with the Angels and now the Dodgers, integrated Mizuhara as his shadow.

After the sport, Mizuhara stood in entrance of an unsuspecting clubhouse and addressed the scoop that might change into public the next morning.

The assembly was once temporary, and got here in combination rapidly, in line with a couple of other people within the room. They described a “weird,” “strange” scene that integrated Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter and CEO Stan Kasten.

“Anything with that, the meeting,” Roberts mentioned Thursday, “I can’t comment.”

Shohei Ohtani and alternative interpreter Will Ireton stand within the Dodgers dugout on Thursday. (Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)

Within the room, in line with a group supply, Mizuhara advised a model of the tale very similar to what he advised ESPN in his preliminary interview, which came about Tuesday.

According to a spokesman for Ohtani, the participant’s involvement first of all was once described as helping Mizuhara. Ohtani transferred budget to hide Mizuhara’s playing money owed of more or less $4.5 million. The cash didn’t cross at once to Mizuhara as a result of Ohtani didn’t accept as true with his interpreter not to “gamble it away.” Before Mizuhara’s interview with ESPN was once revealed, alternatively, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara’s account and mentioned Ohtani’s legal professionals would factor a commentary.

Mizuhara mentioned on Wednesday that Ohtani had no wisdom of his playing process, money owed or makes an attempt to pay them.

By the time media had been allowed into the house clubhouse at Gocheok Skydome after the assembly, Mizuhara had ducked into the hallway, simplest rising towards the tip of Ohtani’s scrum with journalists to briefly interpret 3 English questions. By morning, with preliminary experiences launched by means of the Los Angeles Times and ESPN well-circulated, the Dodgers showed Mizuhara — who have been Ohtani’s number one interpreter since arriving in Major League Baseball and whose courting with Ohtani even predated that — have been fired. Yet confusion persevered amongst the ones inside the group, particularly after Ohtani’s representatives disavowed a lot of Mizuhara’s claims in his interview with ESPN.

Speaking in entrance of a room of media contributors packed in to invite a couple of tale positive to attract international headlines, Roberts declined to remark at the nature of the accusations and the decision-making procedure and timing in the back of Mizuhara’s firing.

Kasten declined to remark sooner than Thursday’s recreation. So too did president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

“There’s nothing to say,” Friedman mentioned. “Literally nothing to say.”

The Dodgers briefly settled on a short lived contingency plan for Thursday. Due to an MLB rule proscribing the collection of interpreters within the dugout, the Dodgers had come to lean closely on Mizuhara because the go-between for the training personnel to keep up a correspondence with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was once chased after only one inning in his major-league debut Thursday after signing a 12-year, $325 million deal this previous offseason. Mizuhara’s function, no less than for the day, was once stuffed by means of Will Ireton. The Dodgers’ supervisor of efficiency operations, Ireton had served because the membership’s interpreter for Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda all the way through a lot of Maeda’s 4 seasons in Los Angeles.

Yamamoto pointed to the focal point last at the recreation, somewhat than the tale that had made headlines.

“I do not have much information on it,” Yamamoto mentioned via interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “So I don’t have anything to say.”

The subsequent steps stay murky. According to a league supply, MLB hasn’t been contacted by means of prosecutors. The MLBPA declined remark, and Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, declined a couple of requests for remark after being provide at Gocheok Sky Dome a lot of the week.

It is the second one noteworthy off-field incident in as many days all the way through the Dodgers’ weeklong travel to South Korea after a reported bomb danger was once made forward of Wednesday’s Opening Day, casting a possible pall over the run-up to essentially the most expected season the Dodgers have had since shifting to Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ $1.2 billion offseason, headlined by means of the addition of Ohtani, was once at all times going to attract added consideration, and with it, scrutiny.

Said Roberts: “We’re here to play baseball.”

— The Athletic‘s Andy McCullough, Dennis Lin, Sam Blum and Britt Ghiroli contributed to this file.

(Top photograph of Shohei Ohtani on Thursday: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)