MLB podcaster drops polarizing take to fuel conspiracies on Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara saga
The MLB season is now officially underway, but the focus of the entire baseball world has shifted to the betting controversy involving Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
MLB podcaster Jarred Carrabis has fuelled that discussion with his take on the situation. In a post on X, Carrabis said that the story doesn’t add up.
“This story reeks of f******. It don’t add up. We bein’ lied to, I fear,” he wrote
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers earlier today after Ohtani’s representatives accused him of “massive theft” in connection to a betting scandal.
This comes only a day after Mizuhara spoke to ESPN about his gambling debts that amount to an estimated $4.5 million. He offered his side of the story, clearing Ohtani of any wrongdoing.
He admitted to asking Ohtani to help pay off his debt, and the Dodgers superstar did help his friend in need, with the hope that it never happens again:
“Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again. He decided to pay it off for me.”
Mizuhara went on to emphasize that Ohtani has never been involved in any gambling activity.
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
But in a surprise turn of events, Mizuhara changed his narrative to ESPN the following day. He said that Ohtani was never aware of his gambling debts and that he had never made payments to any bookmaker or their associates.
According to the LA Times, Mizuhara placed bets on sports excluding baseball via Matthew Bowyer – an allegedly illegal bookmaker. ESPN reported that wire transfers were made from Shohei Ohtani’s account to one of Bowyer’s associates.
Ohtani’s name was reportedly found on two $500,000 payments that date back to September and October of last year. Mizuhara was accused of theft by Ohtani’s representatives and fired by the Dodgers.
As of now, Ohtani isn’t expected to face any sanctions from MLB, according to multiple reports. The two-way superstar also didn’t address the media following the Dodgers’ 15-11 Game 2 loss vs. the Padres in Seoul. Per MLB insider Chelsea Janes, Dodgers PR guarded Ohtani’s locker after the game.
Shohei Ohtani gets new interpreter following Ippei Mizuhara firing
For the moment, Will Ireton will step in to replace the fired Ippei Mizuhara to serve as Shohei Ohtani’s new interpreter, starting tonight.
Ireton has been with the Dodgers organization since 2016 and has previously served as Kenta Maeda’s interpreter during his time in LA. He also serves as the Dodgers’ current Manager of Performance Operations.
With Mizuhara now out the way, Shohei Ohtani can hopefully put the debacle behind him.
