The most important story coming into the 2024 Main League Baseball season includes Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, and extra info continues to come back to gentle amid a playing scandal involving the 2.
In response to The Athletic’s Sam Blum, there are a number of inaccuracies in Mizuhara’s publicly out there biography.
Throughout Ohtani’s tenure with the Los Angeles Angels, Mizuhara was listed within the workforce’s media information as having graduated from the College of California, Riverside, in 2007. Nonetheless the college denied that Mizuhara ever attended the varsity.
“Our college information don’t present a scholar by the identify of Ippei Mizuhara having attended UC Riverside,” a faculty spokesman instructed The Athletic.
The college didn’t touch upon whether or not it was doable Mizuhara attended the varsity below a unique or related identify, in accordance with Blum.
Moreover, a number of studies said Mizuhara served as Hideki Okajima’s interpreter with the Boston Crimson Sox in 2010. Nonetheless, the Crimson Sox denied that Mizuhara ever labored for them or Okajima throughout his time with the workforce.
“We’re reaching out to all of you due to studies in varied retailers stating that Ippei Mizuhara labored for the Crimson Sox as an interpreter, which is wrong,” the Crimson Sox stated in an announcement. “Mizuhara was by no means employed by the Boston Crimson Sox in any capability and was not an interpreter for Hideki Okajima throughout the pitcher’s time with the workforce. Please know that we have now completely checked our recordsdata to make sure we’re offering correct info.”
In response to archives from the Boston Globe, Ryo Shinkawa served as Okajima’s interpreter throughout his Crimson Sox tenure and the workforce’s media information lists two individuals as workforce interpreters, neither being Mizuhara, per Blum.
Any info on Mizuhara previous to 2018 when Ohtani signed with the Angels was not discovered on two totally different databases searched by The Athletic, in accordance with Blum.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara on Wednesday after representatives of Ohtani alleged he stole greater than $4 million from the Japanese phenom to cowl his playing money owed. Mizuhara allegedly wired cash in Ohtani’s identify to an alleged unlawful bookmaking operation run by Matthew Bowyer that’s below federal investigation.
Mizuhara initially instructed ESPN that Ohtani agreed to repay his playing losses, however a spokesperson for Ohtani stated the star was unaware of his former interpreter’s playing exercise.
Mizuhara later instructed ESPN’s Tisha Thompson that Ohtani had “zero involvement in betting.”
MLB introduced earlier this week that it’s investigating the allegations. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported that Ohtani will stay on the Dodgers energetic roster throughout the investigation “except one thing dramatic occurs.”