"They also didn't know he was married" - MLB fans not buying report of Shohei Ohtani's former teammates being oblivious to him following other sports

Shohei Ohtani’s former personal interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara is facing criminal charges for allegedly illegally betting on Ohtani’s money, estimated to be amounting to $4.5 million. Ippei has since been fired from the Los Angeles Dodgers camp, while MLB started an investigation into the matter.

To better understand the situation, Jeff Fletcher, the Angels beat writer, contacted Ohtani's former teammates from Anaheim. However, none of his old friends made any comments.

The news was reportedly surprising to them. They believed it was unlikely for Ohtani to get involved in gambling as he was never interested in other sports, Fletcher reported.

However, fans expressed their doubts on X (formerly Twitter).

"They also didn't know he was married," a fan commented.

Mizuhara joined the LA Angels with Shohei in 2017. In 2021, he attended Ohtani’s first Home Run Derby as a catcher. When the Dodgers signed a $700 million contract with Ohtani, Mizuhara was also hired as part of Shohei's team.

Timeline of Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara's ongoing investigation

According to ESPN, it all started back in 2021, when Ohtani and Mizuhara were with the Angels. Mizuhara reportedly met Methew Bowyer, the alleged bookie, at a poker game in San Diego. He allegedly started to make bets on Bowyer’s credit shortly after their first meeting. However, by the end of 2022, he was over $1 million in debt.

In an interview with ESPN, Mizuhara said he kept the debt secret from Ohtani out of concern for personal relationships and job security. But he was reportedly forced to come to Ohtani when his debt reached a whopping $4 million by the end of 2023.

Ohtani reportedly paid for Mizuhara from his personal bank account in eight to nine installments. However, the matter got complicated from this point.

Before the interview was published, a spokesperson on behalf of Ohtani contacted ESPN, urging them to not publish the story. The spokesperson reportedly said Ohtani didn’t recall any of those events and only found out the missing amount on Wednesday.

Amid the confusion of allegations and inconsistencies in information, ESPN demanded an official statement from the spokesperson, which Othani’s lawyer at Brek Brettler LLP gave on Thursday.

"In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities," Ohtani’s law firm issued a statement.

Furthermore, Mizuhara also accepted that he lied in the previous interview and that Ohtani didn’t have a connection with his scandal. Neither Shohei Ohtani nor his lawyer have made any comments since then, as the investigation continues.