MLB Is Investigating Shohei Ohtani And His Former Translator For Gambling Scandal

Buckle up, we got a situation going on right now, it's a scandal that we don't know much about yet and I'm honestly scared. Scared of what we're going to eventually find out, scared of the possibilities of what we could find out. So out of absolutely nowhere, at least to the public, after the Dodgers' first game of the season in Seoul, South Korea a few days ago, it was reported that Shohei Otani's translator had been fired due to stealing his money, millions of dollars, in order to place bets with an illegal bookmaker, Matthew Boyer, who is the target of a federal investigation. Now immediately, like for about 30 minutes, the story seems simple. Ipe Mazahara, Otani's long-time translator, stole $4.5 million to fund this illegal bookmaker, something that would also entail one of Otani's closest friends betrayed him. Because Ipe isn't just Otani's translator, that's actually just a small part of his job. As professional of a relationship as they have together, Ipe is practically best friends with Otani and has even said he's with the guy more than he's with his own wife. All through the season, all through the off-season, Ipe has basically become Otani's sidekick over the years, and a pretty known figure as well, simply because of that. So to hear he was doing this was sad, but it doesn't seem to be that simple. Part of what made this so bizarre is how quickly it unfolded. Ipe was in the Dodger dugout during the first game, everything seemed fine, and pretty soon after the original report came out, a video of Ipe and Shohei together in the Dodger dugout during the game made the rounds and showed the two obviously were cool with one another. It wasn't the type of interaction between someone who knew the other guy was stealing money from him. So it all unraveled really that fast? Well, apparently after the game, a bunch of Dodger team personnel, the front office, ownership, all held a meeting with the team in the clubhouse, basically saying that there was a big negative story coming, and that's when it was Ipe's turn to speak, telling the team that it was his fault and that he has a gambling addiction. This is where the story has different sides to it. According to Tisha Thompson, who's all over this story and who works for ESPN, a team official that was interviewed and others present at this meeting said that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman stood up and said Otani had helped to cover Ipe's losses. Otani's spokesperson has a different story though, telling ESPN that on the way back to the hotel, Otani started asking questions about what had been said in the clubhouse. Apparently he was confused, and that's when Otani told him he didn't recognize Ipe's version of the events. What's confusing though is that the crisis communications spokesman for Otani, who had just been hired, originally said that Otani did in fact pay the debts on behalf of Ipe, with that same spokesman literally quoting Otani as saying, yeah I sent several large payments, that's the maximum amount I could send. But after the first report dropped, Otani's spokesman and a Dodgers official said that Otani's representatives had kept relying on Ipe to communicate with Otani while they were dealing with this whole situation, and Ipe did not tell Otani what was happening. So according to Otani's representatives, Wednesday when the news dropped was the first time he realized that money was missing from his account, telling ESPN not to publish the original story they had ready, insisting that Ipe was lying and that Shohei did not know. And this is when it's reported that Otani was a victim of massive theft, and his lawyers were turning the matter over to authorities. What was that original story ESPN had cooked up ready to go you ask? Well they had interviewed Ipe for an hour and a half right before the first game of the season over the phone, and he told basically everything. According to Ipe in this interview, and it's important to specify that, Ipe in this interview would tell ESPN that he met Boyer, the bookmaker who's under investigation and who actually had his house raided by the FBI late last year, at a poker game in San Diego in 2021, saying that he started betting with Boyer on credit shortly after they met, placing wagers on several sports, but not baseball. Ipe made sure to specify that, claiming he knew it wasn't allowed so he stayed away from betting on baseball. Ipe added on that he'd previously bet on DraftKings and didn't know Boyer's operation was illegal. And speaking of DraftKings, ironically, I want to give a huge shoutout to DraftKings for sponsoring this video. We're rapidly approaching the baseball regular season, and if you're looking for a place to get in on the action, look no further than the DraftKings Pick 6 app, a brand new way to play daily fantasy with DraftKings Pick 6. All new customers get a deposit match of 100% of up to $100 with a deposit of just 5 or more. That's right, if you deposit anywhere from $5 to $100, DraftKings Pick 6 will match it in credits and getting started is about as easy as it gets. All you gotta do is download the app, the Pick 6 app of course, use code ITALK, promo code I-T-A-L-K, as you can see right here, then you can select anywhere from 2 to 6 players from any sport that you want to play with, and see if they're gonna have more or less of a stat. And from there, you just sit back, relax, watch your lineup, and compete against others for big prizes. One more time, that's code ITALK in all caps at the DraftKings Pick 6 app for a 100% deposit match of up to $100. The crown is yours. At the time, Ipe's salary with the Angels was about $85,000, but by the end of 2022, he had lost over $1 million and was borrowing money from friends and family. These are words from Ipe during the interview, quote, I couldn't share this with Shohei, it was hard for me to make my ends meet. I was going paycheck to paycheck because I kinda had to keep up with his lifestyle, but at the same time, I didn't want to tell him this, end quote. By early 2023, Ipe's debt went up to $4 million, and that's when he went to Shohei for help. In the interview, Ipe said he feared losing Otani's trust, and feared for his safety, fearing someone could come to his house over this situation, so he explained the situation to Otani, with Shohei of course not being happy with it, but telling him he'd help him, and when asked if Otani knew the money Ipe needed money to give to was a bookie, he claims he didn't have a clue, with Ipe also claiming he just told Shohei he needed to send a wire to pay off the debt, and Shohei didn't question anything or ask if it was illegal, which of course seems very reckless and irresponsible, to not ask where exactly that money was going. I get that Otani trusted Ipe, but, and again, this is just one version of the story, but if this version of the story is true, to without question just give off millions to pay off someone, and you don't know the situation is very irresponsible. You know what else would be irresponsible? Enjoying this video and not subscribing to the channel. Shohei himself actually said that once, so if you enjoy this video, hit that subscribe button to keep up with everything that's great about baseball. And everything that's negative too, I guess. So in this interview, Ipe says Otani paid off his debts with about 8 or 9 transactions of $500,000 over the course of several months. Ipe called it embarrassing, and even said his wife didn't know about any of this until now, saying he would eventually pay back Otani, while also adding that Otani has never gambled and thinks it's terrible, bringing up that Otani would see his own teammates gambling and ask them why are you doing this, it's not good, and whenever he was asked to go to casinos on road trips, he always declined. So again, all of this that was said by Ipe himself to ESPN in that interview was just before Game 1 of the season in Korea, like hours before. Afterward is when that meeting in the clubhouse happened, Ipe addresses the team, is fired, and that's when we're hearing that Otani did not know about what was going on. So because of this obvious contradiction to Ipe's original story and Otani's spokesman telling ESPN not to publish it, ESPN reached back out to Ipe, and during this phone call, or I think it was actually a text conversation this time, basically walked back everything he had said hours earlier, saying he lied in the last interview, and that Otani had no knowledge of his gambling activities, debts, or efforts to repay that debt. And when asked if he had been accused of theft or embezzlement, he says that he has been told not to comment, but declined to say who told him that. In the ESPN article by Tisha Thompson, this was part of the conversation. Ipe says, obviously this is all my fault, everything I've done, I'm ready to face all the consequences. He's asked, when did Otani become aware of the situation? They told me I can't answer anything. Otani's representatives? Are they representing you? No. Are you taking any form of payment to tell me these things? No. Have you made any kind of agreement to say these things? No. You're doing this of your own volition and free will? Yes. Did you bet on baseball? No. Did you lie to Shohei? Yes. And when asked if he has ever purposely misinformed Otani while interpreting the issues the reporter is asking about, Ipe responded, no, I have never done that. He's then asked, did you take the money from Shohei's accounts without his knowledge? No response. So what on earth is going on here? The obvious consensus among most people, it seems, is there's at least something we don't know. Whether it's one thing, multiple things, this story and timeline clearly isn't adding up. Ipe gives an entire 90 minute interview explaining how the story went, then completely walks back all of it and says it was all a lie, and Otani's representative says that he didn't know any of it. He didn't know there was some inquiry. After the game, that's when he found out. He didn't know what the F was going on. Well, looks like now Major League Baseball is gonna try and figure out what the F is going on. The league has opened up a formal investigation into Otani and Ipe, and is expected to request interviews with everyone involved, including Otani and Ipe, although both guys actually have the right to refuse cooperation with the investigation. As for Ipe, officials can't force it since he no longer works for baseball. And as for Otani, he's a member of the MLB Players Association, and I guess that's a reason. I didn't know that. But the league announced this launch of an investigation, and Otani's representative said that they had officially submitted the allegation to law enforcement, but did not say to which authorities exactly. ESPN has since snooped around trying to find that out, which they haven't. So will Otani be put on administrative leave for this, meaning he can't play but he'll still get his salary while the investigation is ongoing? The short answer is no. The long answer is no, because Otani has not been accused of dealing directly with the bookmaker, and there is no evidence that any of the bets were made on baseball. So the league doesn't see a need to take him off the field at this moment, which makes sense. Right now, this seems like a massive Ipe problem with a slight implication that Otani may have done something wrong, so it's unlikely. Not the other way around. But all of this of course just leaves you asking more questions than you probably came in with. Why did Ipe give a big interview and say a ton of things he eventually, no, not eventually, IMMEDIATELY walked back? How exactly did Otani not know about these payments and wire transfers adding up to at least $4.5 million coming out of his own bank account? Did he really just find out when Ipe addressed the clubhouse and was confused? Obviously some think he could be covering up for Otani, because he realizes what Otani did was illegal, even if he just did it out of the kindness of his heart, not realizing how serious the situation was in a legal sense. Or maybe, and this is of course the biggest, most out there conspiracy theory, Ipe is covering for Otani because Otani himself was the one gambling with his illegal activity, and even more out there, he was betting on baseball which would of course be the ultimate sin. So those are the theories, the thoughts people are having, everything seems fishy and worrisome, and this is the last person baseball wants or needs to be dealing with in this kind of controversial light. In my god's honest opinion from gathering all the info, I don't believe Shohei intentionally did anything bad, the worst case scenario for him is that he did do something illegal but legitimately didn't know, he had no idea. I just can't accept the idea Otani was knowingly giving money to an illegal betting company or betting himself illegally with anything, let alone baseball, I don't know that, but I strongly believe it. Now I know some might be like, oh well, Otani was too squeaky clean and perfect of a guy, something had to be wrong with him, and to that I say, nah, some people, many people are really as great and drama free as Shohei, it's realistic. But at the end of the day, there are unanswered questions, this whole situation seems complicated, and I'm kinda scared to find out what the real truth is. As much as I believe Shohei didn't do anything wrong, the chance that he did do something wrong horrifies me, and I'm sure it scares the league too, I mean we're literally talking about an international superstar, baseball's golden boy, and I will go with that until further notice. Let me know what you think, thank you for watching, and I'll see you soon.