What is happening with Shohei Ohtani?

The 1992 movie A League of Their Own taught audiences that there’s no crying in baseball, and betting is prohibited as properly. Maybe Ippei Mizuhara, interpreter and longtime good friend of Dodgers famous person Shohei Ohtani, may need prevented the scenario he at the moment finds himself in had Tom Hanks’s character made that addendum to his dictum.

Now, a full-blown betting scandal has erupted in Main League Baseball. Right here’s what it is best to know:

What occurred?

This story got here to gentle due to investigative journalism. On Wednesday, March 20, the Los Angeles Instances reported that “Ohtani’s identify had surfaced” in an investigation into Matthew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker.

ESPN’s Tisha Thompson has also been on the case. Bowyer, an Orange County resident, is being investigated for working an unlawful bookmaking operation. In accordance with Thompson’s reporting, giant wire transfers have been comprised of Ohtani’s account to an account owned by an affiliate of Bowyer’s. Mizuhara and different sources acknowledged that Ohtani doesn’t wager. He was merely serving to a good friend by loaning him cash to repay his playing money owed.

Mizuhara went on the document with Thompson the day earlier than the Instances story broke. He advised her, “he watched Ohtani go browsing to a pc and begin to make wire switch funds” and instructed him on tips on how to do it.

Simply 12 hours later, Thompson and the Instances acquired an announcement from Ohtani’s legal professionals on the Berk Brettler regulation agency. “In the midst of responding to current media inquiries, we found that Shohei has been the sufferer of an enormous theft, and we’re turning the matter over to the authorities,” the assertion learn.

Mizuhara appeared to then change his story. Thompson spoke with him again, and he claimed that Ohtani didn’t know concerning the wire transfers or playing money owed. The Dodgers fired Mizuhara on Wednesday. Thompson has a number of sources telling her that his money owed are “at the least $4.5 million.”

Diane Bass, Bowyer’s lawyer, made certain to additionally make clear that Ohtani by no means interacted along with her consumer. “Mr. Bowyer by no means had any contact with Shohei Ohtani, in particular person, on the cellphone, in any approach,” she told the Related Press. “The one particular person he had contact with was Ippei.”

Why is that this such an enormous deal?

Sports activities betting is against the law in California. MLB has three tiers of punishments for betting on baseball, which fall underneath Rule 21 on misconduct. If a participant or worker bets on a sport that they weren’t collaborating in, they’re banned from the game for a yr. If a participant or worker beats on a sport they have been collaborating in, the ban lasts a lifetime.

The third tier leaves extra room for interpretation and covers those that place beats with a bookmaker. The punishment is left as much as the commissioner who takes under consideration the info of every particular person case. Ohanti is baseball’s golden boy with an unprecedented $700 million contract. One might speculate that this provides him some safety, however the case continues to be ongoing.

In the meantime, many unanswered questions stay on this case. Mizuhara and Bowyer are each being investigated by the Inner Income Service (IRS), the AP reported. Time will inform if Ohtani faces any expenses from both Main League Baseball or the federal authorities.

Each Mizuhara and Bass have mentioned that Mizuhara by no means positioned bets on baseball. Bass clarified that Mizuhara did wager on worldwide soccer.

Extra info will definitely be coming to gentle within the coming weeks about this case. It’s laborious to not make comparisons to Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on baseball, however extra info is clearly wanted right here. Maybe the lesson for MLB is to raised vet workers as a lot as they give the impression of being into their gamers’ backgrounds earlier than signing them.