Shohei Ohtani’s Ex-Manager Has Questions About Gambling Ties
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is in somewhat hot lukewarm water after his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the organization for his gambling activity.
That has led to a lot of questions, from just about everyone in the baseball world.
Joe Maddon, who spent three seasons managing Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels, included.
Maddon had an up-close view of the relationship between Ohtani and Mizuhara, speaking with Jayson Stark of The Athletic this week and discussing what he saw. He also shares the kind of questions he has for Ohtani, which relate to many of the same things people without a relationship to the phenom want to ask.
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“There’s only one question to ask,” Maddon said, per Stark. “‘Did you know anything about this? Did you know about (Mizuhara’s) betting habits? And if you did, why didn’t you try to stop it?’ … Then, of course, you just (ask) straight up: ‘Did you ever bet, yourself, on anything?’ … And that’s it. I mean, I don’t know that anything else is pertinent until those questions are answered.”
Ohtani did address his involvement with Mizuhara’s gambling habit in a prepared statement on March 25, essentially distancing himself from who many believed to be his best friend.
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said, per team-provided video. “… I never bet on baseball or any other sports. I have never asked anybody to do that on my behalf. … Just to go over the result, Ippei has been stealing money from my account, and has told lies.”
MLB has opened an investigation into both Ohtani and Mizuhara, which could help finally answer the questions Maddon and many others have.