Major League Baseball issued a statement today, which reads as follows: “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari [sic] from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and friend, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday. Reports had emerged which connected Mizuhara to an illegal gambling operation in California, where sports betting is not legal. Per those reports, over $4.5MM was wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to the gambling ring. Mizuhara and a spokesperson for Ohtani initially told ESPN that the debts were Mizuhara’s and Ohtani sent the money to help his friend pay them off. But attorneys representing Ohtani later claimed that the player had been “the victim of a massive theft.”
The league opening an investigation was inevitable. Even if Mizuhara was the only one involved, there would be serious grounds for concern. All MLB players and employees are prohibited from betting on baseball, given their access to information that may not be public. They can bet on sports other than baseball and Mizuhara insists that he never did bet on baseball, but the connection to an illegal operation under federal investigation makes it a different matter.
The fact that the sport’s biggest star is involved only gives the league further grounds to look into it. To this point, there’s been nothing to suggest that Ohtani himself did any betting. Per the initial reporting from earlier this week, multiple sources asserted that Ohtani does not gamble. But multiple wire transfers in his name to an illegal operation under federal investigation was clearly going to be grounds for the league to take a look. As recently pointed out by Craig Calcaterra at Cup of Coffee, Ohtani may have violated federal laws and/or league rules just by wiring the money, even if he did no gambling whatsoever.
Per T.J. Quinn of ESPN, the league is expected to request interviews with all parties, including both Ohtani and Mizuhara, though “officials will have no way to compel Mizuhara’s cooperation since he no longer works for baseball.” Quinn adds that Ohtani will have a right to refuse as a member of the MLBPA.
In terms of organizations outside the league, Quinn adds that neither the California Bureau of Investigation nor the FBI are investigating. Stephen Wade, Tong-Hyung Kim and Stefanie Dazio of The Associated Press reported earlier today that Mizuhara is being criminally investigated by the IRS.
And here we go
10 seconds later…
MLB: We found nothing!
Based on past precedent shouldn’t he be suspended pending the outcome of said investigation?
will be interesting to see how much effort they put into this … there is no way that Shohei would not be aware of wires from his account of this magnitude.
Of course not. But it sounds like the interpreter is taking the bullet for his pal.
I’m sure he will be well reimbursed once he starts making real coin.
Deferred. Figures.
I believe at $7,500 the federal laundering system is triggered. He would have been notified personally of the suspicious activity in his account. This doesn’t add up. It’s going to get ugly.
I think it is $10,000 now but yes, it triggers a suspicious activity report.
It’s certainly a quantum level past the threshold for sure.
I’m going with Ohtani knew and tried to help his friend. Which was the original story. I get it, if true. But that’d still come with consequences. I doubt the Feds would have major interest in him unless they find they need to be. But we might see some names pop up in the bookies seized records.
CBA violation here is a season suspension. The damage to Ohtani is done in the public mind. Fans will taunt the Astros after the last player from those teams has gone along. Public perception matters to branding.
Again, MLB has the PR capacity of metal in a microwave.
Dock, that last statement was a great description, and might even be an understatement.
As one who worked in MiLB, I have always said MLB teams could learn something from how minor league teams have to promote in order to survive.
Interesting, Reds. Can you elaborate on how MLB could learn from MiLB? What work did you do?
Lawyer’s up and we have a paid off fall guy!!
Ippei was paid off when he thought the narrative was going to be that Ohtani simply paid off his gambling debts. Now that they’re accusing Ippei of theft, I’d wager he’s not going to be as eager to take the fall
If the translator was getting his gambling debt paid off, how did he intend on paying the tax penalties associated with such a large gift from Ohtani?
18-40% in gift tax. That is twice Mazahura’s annual income at a minimum.
Just realized, the donor pays the gift tax unless the IRS counts it as income.
The money is described as a “loan” by the sender, Otani. It’s not described as a gift even though logic says it’s a gift. How’s Ippei supposed to pay back 4.5 million? It was never going to happen.
Mazahura is facing a very long prison sentence if convicted on wire fraud which is the most serious of the charges he could be brought up on.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, wire fraud is a federal crime that carries a sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000 for individuals. This would be at least 9 counts since $500k is the largest transfer that was made in this case and it was at least $4.5 million..
Do you think that Mazahura will be willing to go to prison for the next 20 years to protect Ohtani?
Pads Fan – That 20 year sentence is the “up to” sentence with a lot of factors that go into the calculation. The fed system is a points based system. He has zero points for criminal history category assuming he has no criminal history. The offense level is probably low as a financial crime with no “victim” unless there was truly fraud or theft. Even then, it wouldn’t be like a drug case or crime of violence. Assuming he’s charged in the feds, if he pleads guilty he gets points off for acceptance of responsibility. If he cooperates he gets more reduction with a “5K” motion from the prosecutor. The counts will possibly combine for sentencing. Realistically, he would get anywhere from probation to up to 24 months maybe.
up to 20 years PER Count. There would be a minimum of 9 counts, possibly more.
The victim is Ohtani. He is the one asking law enforcement to look into the alleged theft.
Wire Fraud is one of the most serious financial crimes. The last one I saw of this magnitude, the perpetrator got 30 years.
Realistically he would get a minimum of the recommended sentencing guidelines which is 66 months per count if he pleads guilty.
@Pads Fan I hear you. The feds already nabbed their prize in Bowyer. Mazahura can be a cooperating witness and possibly not do time for multiple counts of wire fraud. However, he’ll also have to work out seperate agreements with the IRS and CA DA’s office if they opt to pursue charges, if any. The goal of the feds is to nail Bowyer and whomever his co-conspirators are running the gambling ops.
He can try to get an even better deal by cooperating and agreeing to testify in court against this Bowyer fellow. The feds will offer this if it ever gets that far.
That might be the Federal goal. But if there’s famous names involved. They’ll likely be outed. MLB will deal with disciplinarian infractions. I can’t hardly see Ohtani getting away clean on this. The Feds won’t care one iota about covering up a mess for baseball. It’s time for journalism to do its job.
Nah, like I said the counts would possibly combine at sentencing. For example, if a felon gets caught possessing a gun, a conviction of T18, USC 922g has a sentence of up to 10 years. If he gets caught with 10 guns, he isn’t exposed to up to 10 years times 10 counts. The counts combine at sentencing for one sentence of up to 10 years. Either way you slice it, even if he were sentenced to up to 20 years for 9 counts, the sentences would run concurrent, not consecutive.
The minimum sentencing guidelines is 66 months per count. That is 5.5 years if they DO allow him to serve the sentences concurrently. .
You ARE exposed to 10 counts for 10 guns. You may not get charged with 10 counts, but its possible. If there is a long history of crime or you lie to the prosecutors about your involvement they will hit you as hard as they are allowed to,
You CAN have the counts combined at sentencing, but they don’t HAVE to do so. Sometimes the judge rules that you can serve your sentences on separate charges concurrently, but not every time and they don’t HAVE to do it at all.
Wire fraud is considered one of the most serious of federal crimes, that is why the penalties are so severe, so its highly doubtful that someone with a 3 year history of violations for a total of over $4.5 million and that lied to investigators would get off easy regardless of who they are. Being a baseball player doesn’t help Ohtani in this case.
Deals can be made with the feds. Story time – I know a guy who created one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges. He also knowingly facilitated financial transactions for illicit goods/services on Silk Road, a defunct darkweb marketplace. His cooperation with the feds directly led to the collapse of Silk Road and its elusive founder’s arrest. The witness with no criminal background history was fined nominally and served only one year in federal prison. He was also allowed to keep the vast majority of his built wealth.
While these baseball guys may not have the dame kind of clout to help bring down such an enormous enterprise, prison time is not a given.
A former business partner was embezzling from the company that purchased my company and funneling it into his gambling on both stocks and sports. Not illegal gambling, legal gambling.
When he was caught the feds hit him with 24 counts of wire fraud for a total of $600k over a 4+ year period. He had no criminal background. As far as I know he had never even had a traffic ticket. He was squeaky clean.
He lied to the FBI and IRS investigators, so when he went to court it was on all 24 wire fraud charges. He was also hit with embezzlement and several other charges in state court in Georgia.
When he was convicted, the judge combined the wire fraud charges and he was sentenced to serve 11 years 6 months on the federal charges. I believe that he is eligible for parole after 36 months.
The use of crypto to facilitate financial transactions is far less regulated than bank wire transfers. That your friend was given a slap on the wrist is consistent with that fact.
So far, Ohtani and his camp have not been forthcoming about his involvement in the wire transfers and there is no indication he is cooperating as a witness in the case against Bowyer.
When he finds out the seriousness of what he is facing, he might change his tactics, but that is what we know as of today. If Ohtani lies to investigators when he is called in to speak to them, he will get hit with the maximum they can bring against him.
My friend didn’t lie and negotiated a deal. He was sentenced to two years I believe and barred from directly operating another exchange. He now works as an int’l industry consultant but lives in the States.
Pads – “The minimum sentencing guidelines is 66 months per count.”
There is no minimum mandatory sentence except for drug cases. Where are you getting your information because it seems very inaccurate.
A few phone calls can be made, and he will be sent back to Japan
Womp Womp
Ippie is nothing more than the fall guy! No translator would be able to establish a credit limit of 4.5M or even $500,000 with a yearly salary of no more than $200,000 after taxes. He probably booked Ohtani’s bets for him and the bookie knew Ohtani was the actual better! Nothing else would make since!
The questions that matter most are is gambling illegal where Ohtani placed his bets and did he place bets on baseball.. Apparently Mr. Clean Ohtani enjoys gambling!
Yep. There isn’t a bookie alive that would allow anyone to run up a 4.5M debt. Allowing that kind of credit requires due diligence to ensure that the person has the means to repay it.
Ohtahni deserves the same punishment as the hit king!
If ohtahni is banned, Can LA void the deal & get the 700 million back?
Shouldn’t be too hard since they won’t pay they vast majority of it for a decade
my understanding is that they had to put about 480 mil into a trust that would eventually be the 680 mil in 2034
If he is banned. His contract is nullified. He will get paid while he’s suspended at prorated 2mil per year.
I would assume the the 68 mill per year deferred would also be prorated and paid at the deferred to date, but I’m not sure.
I would think the deferred payments could be nullified later if the dodgers chose the breach of contract legal argument, but I have no idea, that’s pure speculation on my part.
Well there you go, lawyerbacks, now you can say something. Still, not passing judgment till we know more. And shhh neither are they. 😉
Akso, the folks that are rooting for Ohtani to be guilty are the worst kind of people.
I think he should face consequences for whatever he is responsible for, but as a player he is good for the game so nothing too severe. A year suspension at the most? We shall see how it all plays out.
Exactly Salzilla. They are disgusting.
Agreed. Scum.
Almost as bad as guys who talk about how this will affect their fantasy team.
Waaaah sorry you have no joy in life.
While I agree with you that Ohtani being innocent is perhaps the best outcome for the game and fans, I don’t understand MLB’s public relations stance in this yesterday. Why not simply state they are gathering information for a potential investigation? Instead they release information saying Ohtani is not the subject of an internal MLB investigation.
MLB creates MLB’s own problems with stuff like this, imho. And, I think it makes it worse for Ohtani, unfortunately.
MLB saying they “gathered further information, thus changing their stance from “no investigation” to “under investigation” seems to imply some level of evidence above what has already been released. If they have, that’s fine. If they haven’t, they’re only harming his reputation, imo.
Cause he bet on baseball and they’re trying to cover up he bet on baseball.
LA to Vegas is an hour flight. 2 hours both ways
Ohtani AND Ippei could have flown out, placed bets, and would have been perfectly legal long as it was on football basketball tennis golf soccer horses. Heck betting on horses is actually legal in CA. So are fantasy sports and gambling at casinos.
Problem is Vegas tracks what you bet on by law. Aka tracks that you bet on baseball.
Only reason you do an illegal underground gambling ring is to avoid detection. Illegal underground rings aren’t reporting anything to anyone.
You have a serious problem about this. Your hate is obvious. Take a mute.
I don’t hate ohtani.
Believing people should be held accountable for their actions isn’t hate.
Sorry your parents raised you incorrectly if you think being famous and rich should exclude you from laws.
Smartest thing they could have done. So much speculation right now. Still contend the first version of Ippei’s story is the right one which would still spell trouble for Shohei.
Seems fairly obvious that’s the case, and once the lawyers got involved that’s when the lies started happening. But I’d be willing to bet, no bookie needed, that MLB won’t do anything to punish the golden child.
Plus idk how they prove Ohtani knew about it if the interpreter keeps taking the blame. I think the first story is the most likely but theyll need some sort of evidence on Ohtani.
Because of the wire transfers. They are likely going to be the real problem for Ohtani.
The financial institution can tell the investigators
what device the authorization has made from,
the IP address it was on at the time,
the time it was made,
the login used (I say that because there are 4 people in my company authorized to make bank transactions and we all have our own separate login),
and if a notification was sent to Ohtani before authorizing the transfer. I get a text asking if the bank transfer was authorized on anything over $10k for my company.
This is going to be very interesting the way it plays out.
MLB doesn’t.
Just remember, MLB doesn’t have to “prove” anything regarding Ohtani knowing. They just have to believe he did it and render judgement. Administrative penalties are enforced at the Commissioner’s discretion, so long as no employment law is violated in the process.
There’s nothing to prevent Manfred (other than the obvious) from finding that Ohtani violated MLB rules and regulations based on his wire transfers along with the initial statements from Ohtani’s own camp.
It’s a completely different system from the criminal system. And the fact criminal defense attorneys said he didn’t do it has no bearing on MLB, just like with the Bauer case.
Imo, they will not find him guilty of anything, nor will they pursue any additional administrative charges against him, absent very clear damning evidence to the contrary.
My hope is that they ban Ohtani if he did something wrong, but exonerate him if he didn’t. As for which he is (guilty or innocent), only Ohtani, Ippei, and God know.
The interpreter may not be willing to go to prison to protect Ohtani, if that is indeed what he has been doing.
Certainly changed Sammy the Bull’s perspective. But they were offering him tens of millions either.
I have no evidence of course, but rumor has it God speaks to some privileged individuals, so they must know too
“As for which he is (guilty or innocent), only Ohtani, Ippei, and God know.”…And the bookie who took the bet knows too.
He may know, but he never met with Ohtani, allegedly. He said he just received the transfers. I’m fairly certain receiving the name, Shohei Ohtani, on $500K wire transfers was enough to encourage a continued line of betting though.
I mean, I know a handful of Shohei Ohtani’s from the neighborhood, but there can’t be that many…
I thought that too, but how does a guy who makes ~$300k/year rack up $4.5m in debt? I doubt a bookie gives a man of his income that kind of credit line.
Especially in California, where his take home is closer to $150-200k. This isn’t like getting a mortgage with a 30 year payment plan.
You can if you keep introducing other “whales” aka big losing bettors to the bookie. Mazahura was in the hole so much in the beginning that he was never going to see a single winning dollar hit his account.
There are bookies out there who don’t even book bets with their bosses bc they already know your series of bets will be net losses. They’ll keep giving you action and extending credit as long as you bring in new action.
This will be the nail in the coffin for baseball
First mlb lost fans bec of bonds/PED users
Then nfl/nba usurped mlb in popularity
Then Manfred botched pandemic season
Then player strike
Then rule changes
Now the face of baseball is a degenerate gambler
RIP major league baseball
1903-2024
youtube.com/watch?v=NRS62nccwmw
Hell yeah, get em!
A toatal solar eclipse, a cicada uprising and now this. This is going to be such a weird spring
This is the right thing to do. We don’t know what we don’t know yet. It is really unfair to anyone involved for us to speculate irresponsibly. The talk shows and web boards have to fill their spaces with something, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t be adults and exhibit a little patience. We’ll find out whatever we will find out soon enough, and not everything in the universe is an elaborate conspiracy. Usually it’s just weird randomness.
Agreed. But you can’t stop the bottom feeders. All you can do is ignore them.
Or come here to read for entertainment purposes.
That’s the thing. This story broke days ago. The media couldn’t shut up about his dogs name or what shampoo he uses, it was insane. Then this story pops, an article gets scrubbed and then leaked.
This is a big deal. There wouldn’t be media silence if there wasn’t collusion going on to limit damage to the absolute minimum.
It’s not speculation the 2 transfers of 500k were wired to an eligible gambling business. So yeah there is enough evidence of foul play to speculate. Plus we already have the two different stories from his interpreter. Can easily see the first one was closer to the truth then the second one which came after lawyers found out about the situation.
I disagree. The league, media and authorities involved would be irresponsible to make assumptions. We, the nobodies, have every right to speculate.
Especially when you hear conflicting reports.
I know all dodgers fan think that his interpreter snuck into Ohtani’s room while he was sleeping and grabbed his phone. Pushed his thumb up against it to unlock it and made those wire transfers. Ohtani didn’t realize it (for months) even though he was missing 4.5m. That’s because he is so rich he doesn’t ever bother to look at his account. Don’t ask them if doing a wire trans for 500k can be done that easy. They start to shiver.
Signed every dodger fan.
but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t be adults and exhibit a little patience.
======================
There is nothing wrong with us speculating. In fact, I would argue that it is speculation that keeps this from getting swept under the rug. And I don’t judge harshly,
But they have to explain it. If it is all innocent, then just explain what happened. Once I see people go into radio silence, I always ask why.
Yes, lets not speculate on a website that has “Rumors” in its name…
They need to come clean. And let the chips fall where they may.
You are the company you keep, Shohei…
Unless Shohei is that naive and trusting to allow access to his bank accounts there is no way he didn’t know about any of this as I’m sure he gets alerts and bank statements and probably knows how to read
That’s just it, he said he did know about the payments first then later said the money was stolen.
They call the second statement lies…he didn’t realize the wire penalty. Ohtani is full of it…
Yep, there ya go.
Hope he doesn’t get banned. Would be bad for the game. I don’t care about gambling
Damn, you would think MLB would spell the guy’s name right in their official statement…
Otani is another spelling of his name and is how it is listed on the bank records.
I think Duffy was referring to the interpreter.
Some owner who couldn’t sign him probably snitched on him to the media
Honestly the way Ohtani acts reminds me of Michael Jackson. So closed off and overly guarded. It doesn’t surprise me one bit he has this sort of thing going on behind closed doors.
Because that owner read one of those writer’s article saying his team was in talks with Ohtani and Ohtani was close to signing with his team. So, the owner went out and made a million dollar bet that Ohtani was going to sign with his team. When Ohtani didn’t sign with his team. He got stuck paying the lost bet and then took the story to ESPN that Ohtani’s interpreter was making bets with an illegal bookie.
It’s all making sense now.
Says the Dodger fan who is crying the Dodgers blues that Ohtani is innocent and was set up.
Wait until Ohtani realizes his 70 million per year was deferred. Talk about lost in translation.
Sounds that was the last bet he lost on.
thanks, I sprayed coffee on my keyboard
To the surprise of exactly nobody.
Boom. Poor Dodgers: the honeymoon hasn’t lasted long.
So all Pete needed all these years was an interpreter?
lol, right. THAT’S what kept him out of the Hall. rich.
@deGrom/Langford Texas Ranger (In Bauer We Trust) out here easily taking home the dumbest comment of the day award. Congrats son!
Wonder if Ben Verlander is still gonna be Ohtani’s stalker now
Manfred’s ready to sweep this under the rug lol
He’ll reinstate pete rose & personally induct him into HOF before banning shohei
Mlb is a joke and this is the biggest emergency since barry bonds’ head grew to be the size of a watermelon
I think it’s real simple to understand as to whether or not Ohtani was involved with this before hand. The bookmaker would not have let this guy get into such a massive hole, nine times his annual salary, unless he knew there was a deeper well backing the guy up.
That’s where this starts. Not saying Ohtani was gambling, but he knew and participated in some illegal ways.
Yeah something doesn’t add up. Does it mean Ohtani is some degenerate gambler? No, but something ain’t kosher.
At the very least the interpreter said Ohtani was backing him. Whether that’s true or not idk. What I do know is bookies don’t let you ring up 4.5m in debt without collateral. Which obviously he did t have because he couldn’t pay it.
Perhaps a bookie who knows you’re making 300-500k?
Nine times in what you make in a year is not a good investment for the book. This guy’s debt was the bookie’s investment. He will not let you keep trying to win back your money unless he was sure of something on his end. Ohtani participated in some way even if it was a simple voucher or an “understanding”.
Or leverage… knowing as they did that this guy was tied to Ohtani. Or that Ippei implied this “understanding” without Ohtani being involved at all.
We’re talking about a player who deferred 68 million a year for 11-20 years instead of taking 50 million a year up front. And someone who lives and sleeps baseball (apparently be brought a mattress into the Angels’ ballpark and slept there sometimes). And someone whose people literally reached out to MLB and said they wanted this investigated.
I don’t know what the hell is going on with this story. But I’m pretty confident Ohtani was not gambling, that he was in the dark on this until recently. The concerning thing for me is if the part about helping Ippei with money is true, that’s a crime on its own. But I have no idea what the actual truth is, and no one else does either. Since the “story” broke, it’s been changed and denied and changed again. I don’t know who is doing the talking (other than Ippei and the bookmakers), what was actually said, and never mind the potential for something being lost in translation.
I do know that Ohtani’s camp said they wanted MLB to investigate the stealing of his money. The fact that that’s how they’ve worded it in the most recent info suggests that it was likely the case all along.
Why would they want mlb to investigate theft?
As far as I can tell or find anywhere, ohtani has not filed a police report. The FBI and the state of California are not involved.
The IRS is the only entity investigating.
The feds are the ones investigating the bookies.
It’s funny how Ohtani’s team came out and said they would file theft charges. If they haven’t yet let see if they do. Lying to Feds is a crime as well.
I can’t imagine Ohtani is some degenerate gambler trying to turn his 700 million into 1 billion. If I had to guess I would say he was taken advantage of.
Hopefully…
Come on man! Wake up! He’s not trying to turn his 700 million into a billion…this is all about the high of winning…it’s an addiction and you may be lucky you don’t understand that part.
You don’t have to be a degenerate gambler to run up a bill like that. You just have to bet big and win. Gambling is like a high, winning money is twice as good as earning it.
winning money is twice as good as earning it.
============================
Arguable the greatest line in movie history, if only because it is true. I can win enough money in poker where it wouldn’t even cover my bar tab, but it’ll take two hours for me to explain how I won it.
Seems like he at least consented to paying off his homie’s illegal gambling debt.
Exactly at the least…which is also illegal.
This all happened in 2021 through the beginning of the 2023 season. Ohtani had not gotten his $700 million deal and his career earning between MLB, NPB, and endorsements was less than $45 million.
No he has made more than 45m before he sign with the dodgers.
He had a net worth of 50m at the time he signed with the dodgers. It’s not a crazy amount which makes even less likely he forked over 4.5m for a friends gambling debt.
The gambling occurred between 2021 and early 2023. He had earned $9.6 million in MLB to that point plus $32 million in endorsements. He signed with the Dodgers for the 2024 season.
Ever heard of a dude named Michael Jordan?
You beat me to it…
Ippei bet on Adonis Creed?
Michael Jordan was a crazy gambler as is Charles Barkley. They say they like the excitement.
They have to, the official story is so wild it stinks to high heaven. Sure white guys are the enemy now, but history just can’t be Pete, and Shoeless Joe. as the bad guys. Yakuza, the Mob, so many suspects. Why did M.L.B wait till the season started to break the news ? Why is Bauer still blacklisted ? Lots of questions need to be answered.
Because he made the league look incredibly stupid about spider tac
“Why did M.L.B wait till the season started to break the news ?” Seriously? You had to ask that question? It’s called ratings. It’s called getting people to pay attention to your dying sport. It’s called getting people to look into the sport betting apps MLB promotes and advertises during every game. Which in turns makes more money for MLB at the perfect time… as a new season is beginning. It’s all about the ratings and the money.
Any news is good news? Not so sure about that one in regards to this. MLB certainly does not want this PR
Technically, MLB didn’t ask for this to happen. That was brought on by the investigation and the media bringing the story to light.
If it was up to Manfred, none of this would have happened in the first place.
But the media and MLB will take all the revenue and attention it will bring towards them now. There are 29 other teams that are benefitting from the Dodgers and Ohtani’s problem.
Had to have been betting on Angels games with all the money he lost
For that price, I’ll take the hit and do prison country club time.
For 20 years?
insert lazy_security_guard.gif
This seems awful fishy. Ohtani is owed due process but that he was involved in illegal gambling, even tangentially, could (and should) be very problematic for his career. At worst, this could end up being a huge fall from grace and at least, this has to be a major distraction for the Dodgers.
Even if he was betting on other sports the punishment will be a slap on the wrist. If he bet on baseball then of course things will be different. In 2015 the league fined Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart an undisclosed amount after determining he he placed illegal sports bets. Because he did not bet on baseball that was the extent of his penalty.
Due process from MLB? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I hope He signed Ohtani’s name on those transfers.
MLB is not going to kill their unicorn.
Yeah not a chance. Sweep sweep sweep….there it’s gone!
It’s never the crime, it’s the cover up. Follow the money.
I bet they put Pete in the HOF sooner than later.
Soon after he dies? Probably. While he is alive? Not likely.
Make an example out of him by suspending him two full innings
Ding! And thus it begins. If I’m Michael Bowyer and I’m under investigation by the F.B.I. and I’ve got receipts showing somebody famous bet on pro sports including MLB, you can bet your sweet life I’m using to get the best deal I can. Is there still a chance that Ohtani is just an affable rube who happens to play MLB and got taken by the translator/violator? Sure.
But that is rapidly turning from likelihood to possibility.
And that is not good.
Why? It’d make way more sense to keep that quiet so you have millions of dollars when you get out of prison.
The FBI and DOJ rarely go after the bettors in the cases like Bowyer’s. They’ll want to know how his ops functions and go after other co-conspirators and competitors if they give him a chance to flip.
In the early days of crypto/dark web, not a single purchaser of illicit goods were prosecuted. They were only interested in busting the market operators and transaction facilitators.
Typically, the way it works is bettors can be good Witnesses for a case, or good Suspects. The person’s classification in the report doesn’t matter to the FBI; but if you try to play games, especially as a high-profile client, the FBI will mess your day up bad.
They’ve already got their lamb. Nothing is going to happen to him.
Highly recommend reading this article
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39784809/dodgers-shohei-oh…
This timeline is stunning.
Notice how he went from detailed answers to one word answer. He was advised by lawyers and legal teams to say little as possible and say yes or no not add any details. 100%!
What a mess. I can’t believe any of it until we start seeing the wire transfers.
But why wasn’t LA providing Ohtani with a new translator as soon as they found out that they had an issue?
Slap fights and guessing people’s weight are highly addictive forms of gambling. They are the gateway to rock, paper, scissors…
Ohtanis baseball experience is about to change dramatically. In Anaheim he was protected and he self-isolated. Opposition fans treated him with respect. Now he will be trolled by road fans, especially Giant and Padre fans, mercilessly. I imagine he will hear things that he has never heard before. He better have a really thick skin to survive this.
He won’t understand the insults if his translator is in jail.
Good hecklers learn their insults in the player’s language. 🙂
and he will be trolled… in Japanese.
Gyanburā …..Gyanburā … Gyanburā
Ohtani Meiyo ga nai
Ohtani Meiyo ga nai
Ohtani Meiyo ga nai
Ōtani wa hanzai-sha
Ōtani wa hanzai-sha
Ōtani wa hanzai-sha
The chants write themselves
Bet MLB will sweep whatever he did under the rug
I agree they may try. But you can bet the government will then step in and investigate.
This won’t go away too quickly. Unless MLB wants another black eye on their way of running the sport. Betting is one area they do not tread lightly. It’s one area of their rules that is strongly enforced.
Though, I am sure the MLB brass is extremely upset on this matter and deeply disturbed that this came out in the media. Because now they are going to lose a marketing media frenzy face of MLB.
Maybe he needed money to pay taxes. Oh wait, he doesn’t pay taxes.
He pays taxes. Federal taxes, in every state he plays in, plus in Japan.
MLB’s investigation will be sponsored by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Pete Rose has joined the chat
I wonder if Pete is betting on whether Ohtani will be found guilty or not, and if he will be banned?
Players that have literally beaten and strangled their wives/girlfriends have been suspended and come back and the league and fans seem pretty cool with them. Ozuna comes to mind first but I’m sure there are others. Yet somehow gambling is some sort of unforgiveable crime? In a league very visibly sponsored by gambling companies? Not saying I think Ohtani actually broke any gambling rules based on the current information but even if he did then why the hell should anyone care unless he was betting against his own team and throwing games? If someone has an intelligent answer to this I’d love to hear it.
If the players are betting on the game > players may affect the outcome of those games due to those bets > undermines credibility of the league > MLB = WWE.
I agree but if the player is betting on the game and can control the outcome of the game why would he be 4.5 million in debt? What did he do? Know the outcome and intentionally take the losing bet?
It’s easy to understand. Go back and read the stories on Pete Rose’s gambling while playing. He was found guilty on betting on his games played AND managed, yet was in debt with his bookies.
And as I mentioned in another post… if Ohtani believes highly in his ability and his team, I am sure he would have been betting big bucks on those years with Angels on winning games, Division, AL Championship games and World Series. How many did his Angels team win those years he played with them? Those would be lost bets.
Which raises another question. Could this be his reason for signing with the Dodgers? A better chance at winning those Division, NL Championship and World Series bets he was betting on his team would win? And to make up some of those losses?
Great points. Thanks for you reply and that all makes sense. If none of this betting was on baseball then this all goes away without more than a slap on the wrist. If they can prove he was betting on baseball then he might be toast
Is betting on sports legal in California?
Yes or no?
Is betting on sports allowed in the current CBA?
Yes or no?
Betting on sports is illegal in CA
I believe MLB players can bet on non-baseball sports, assuming sports betting is legal in the jurisdiction they place the wagers.
If a player sends money to an illegal bookmaking operation for any reason, he is in violation of an MLB regulation. Apparently, all players have to sign some anti gambling MLB document every spring acknowledging this provision among others in fine print that may or may not be in Japanese. If the Dodgers were relying on Ippei to translate all this from English for Shohei, maybe he didn’t for whatever reason.
After this, let’s in-state, Pete Rose back in baseball to the Hall of Fame
Tokyo Rose
I’m stealing Tokyo Rose…, Oil Can.
If they’re claiming theft or they got conned then they have to file a complaint w Newport PD or OC Sheriff and they will have to explain everything so Ohtani’s story will have to come out unless he drops charges. And if he’s wrong now he can be sued.
It would a real kick if they find another 4Mill wired to Stormy Daniels.
“In terms of organizations outside the league, Quinn adds that neither the California Bureau of Investigation nor the FBI are investigating.”
So, in other words, the 4.5 million dollars noted being betted was actually wired from MLB, the Dodgers and Ohtani to pay the California Bureau of Investigation and the FBI to look the other way and not find Ohtani was involved in any way?
I don’t believe for one second that Quinn has any idea of which agencies are investigating this. There’s no doubt crimes were committed beyond tax fraud. Some law enforcement agency is investigating this situation.
The unarguable point is that money was wired directly from Ohtani’s account to an illegal entity – therefor punishment has to be given to Ohtani by either / or the MLB and the feds
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39784809/dodgers-shohei-oh… ….. A timeline of this story starting from last Sunday from ESPN who broke the news.
If the LA DA was on the case, Ohtani would have nothing to worry about. That DA doesn’t prosecute anybody.
Gascon is a joke
Look, they didnt place bets on games, just on particular plays, like balls/strikes/outs/hits etc….Really, whats the meaning of “is” anyhow….
If they did, the inside information didn’t help much, the dude was 4.5 million in debt to his bookie. Maybe he should bet against monies information he got.
Imagine if u were big star in Japan n didn’t know a word of English, you’d be pretty reliant on your interpeter. Has had em since ’17 w/Angel’s so there’s some type of bond, closeness. Who should be scrutinized is Ohtani’s money ppl unless they did find indiscreptencies in his accounting n were 1s to bring attention to matter. Can’t expect international superstar, 1 of most marketable athletes on earth w/all his endorsements to keep track of his everyday account balances. If anything reads like Ohtani’s guilty of bein too trustworthy. Gambling is hell of disease.
Imagine your interpreter becomes your best friend. In 7 years of being around a professional language interpreter and English speaking co-workers, you have zero command of the English language except the between innings station mentions saying, “theeeees Ezzz Sho-Hay Oh-tawneeee and yo leeeseneen doooo Ahn-gells ray-D-Ohhh.” I say he knows and speaks English but hasn’t let anyone know how much. There can be recordings and everyone will say Ohtani can’t speak English so it can’t be Shohei. The dude’s a criminal mastermind. Now, how does the new wife tie into all of this? Does she have Yakuza connections? This is how conspiracy theories work.
come on, mlb. if a guy is taking the fall and going to jail in order to protect your profits, the least you can do is spell his name right
I went to school decades ago with a Japanese American kid named Otani with no H. Same with a kid named Ono no H. This H is a modern addition in Romaji for the Western world.
Say wat? Tat too witout the H’s.
Story even more fishier than a bass rodeo tournament by announcing it when the parties are over seas. Ippei Mizuhari probably doesn’t fly back to us. Can’t interview. Case inconclusive.
Free
Me
They don’t need to talk with the Ippei. They only need to see the wire transfer receipts and whose accounts they came from. That is the person who will need to answer the questions.
Anywhere he goes ‘Gambler’ by Kenny Rodgers blaring!
Public address announcer at every away stadium: “Now betting….Shohei Ohtani”
Get his ‘awe-shucks, i’m perfect’ nonsense out of MLB. never trusted him. The Dodgers curse lives on with full force—with full recompense. We have Wyatt Langford, we’ll be fine.
MLB ramps up the investigation while Oakland waits for Las Vegas to shovel bales of $100 bills their way. Tell me again how serious gambling is.
To the government? Big.
You best be sure government will make sure they piece of every $ you get.
Either Ohtani is the “big dumb jock” and his interpreter was the ultimate con man who could give 2 entirely different conversations between Ohtani and the person who he’s talking to. And not one person who speaks Japanese ever tipped Ohtani off. Or Ohtani’s team is full of it.
NO HUNT..BEWARE..OPEN/CLOSE..NO CREDIT..EARNEST T BASS..!!
99% of you were wrong in the basic law language about J.D. Davis. So this is just Jell-O
I was an AI/CGI Ray Liotta to play him in the movie adaptation.
Field of Deferrals?
Yawn. Unless Shohei is throwing games I don’t care. And honestly, I’m not an LA fan, so I don’t care either way.
Well, you are a Philly fan and I dont think yall care about anything moral.
Wow! Sick burn. How will I ever recover from that gross overgeneralization!
Every bookie I knows extends $4.5 million in credit to guys making $85,000 a year. Oh wait, no they don’t.
Pretty obvious that the interpreter is the straw man hiding Ohtani’s betting. ESPN reports that the debt ballooned from just under $1 million at the end of 2022, to over $4 million by early 2023.
Sounds like somebody laid $3 million on Jalen Hurts and the Eagles to beat the Chiefs…lol
Waiting for Ohtani to call this a witchhunt.
Free me
Not a dodger fan and I would love to see them flush all that money down the drain or lose Ohtani all together, but to be fair. If his inside information landed him 4.5 million in debt than he is welcome to it as far as I am concerned. I am not at all upset that I didn’t have that same information.
If baseball games aren’t bet on, fine. But if Ohtani is using his interpreter as a fall guy, get Ohtani some help.
Wait, didn’t just the other day MLB said they weren’t going to investigate Ohtani? What new info did they get?
The fact that there is tax evasion and wire fraud as part of this crazy story. I’m waiting to hear that Ohtani has gone missing from the team plane back to L.A. and resurfaces back in Japan (no extradition) because he wants to be closer to family and play there instead.
That would be the quite the finale.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_extrad…
See that “DC” footnote next to Japan? Japan is a dual criminality (DC) nation. Which means if they do not have the same exact law there, they ignore any extradition requests.
Japan does not extradite to the U.S. Unless its a major crime like murder.
Bonilla
More likely they announce that his wife is “homesick” and so they decided to return
“Shohei, did you place these bets and wire this money”?
SO: “Beisbol has bean berry berry goot to me”. “No understand”
Has the fired interpreter left the country? There are nations which do not have extradition treaties with the US. There are even countries that refuse extradition requests.
An illegal bookmaker is making a claim regarding a prominent athlete in exchange for what? How much reliance can anyone place on the assertions a known criminal has possibly arisen from possible blackmail?
If the interpreter does not cooperate with MLB, Ohtani refuses per his rights under the CBA and there are no federal justice agencies even looking into this situation, specifically what facts will MLB investigate?
We haven’t even touched on how far the powerful owners of the LAD will go to protect their meal ticket.
It seems laughable right now.
The fired interpreter is an American. He lives in Orange County. He isn’t fleeing anywhere, though Shohei might. Japan doesn’t extradite.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_extrad…
See that “DC” footnote next to Japan? Japan is a dual criminality (DC) nation. Which means if they do not have the same exact law there, they ignore any extradition requests.
Japan does not extradite to the U.S. Unless its a major crime like murder.
Now you know.
They extradited two Japanese citizens to the US on gambling charges in 2019.
They would extradite Ohtani or Mizuhura
They would extradite Ippei because he is American. Unless he has an “accident” first.
“An illegal bookmaker is making a claim regarding a prominent athlete in exchange for what? How much reliance can anyone place on the assertions a known criminal has possibly arisen from possible blackmail?”
Go back and read the Pete Rose gambling cases. He was also found guilty from receipts with a bookie who was reported as being an illegal and known liar bookie.
One of Pete’s best friends was a bet runner for him too. Placing the bets in Pete’s name.
It’s an illegal gambling operation. Can you bust the people running it? That is what needs to happen FIRST. Then you can rake OTHER people if you must but start with the illegal gambling operation.
uhhhhhhh, they did. That’s how the records were uncovered that Ohtani was wiring them money.
Well this explains all that deferred money. He barely loses anything if he gets suspended at this point in time. In my opinion If it is proven that he Knowingly had any involvement At all with gambling and or organized crime mlb Better Not give him just a slap on the wrist because he is a cash cow
Somebody dodged a bullet. Can you guess who?
c7.alamy.com/comp/TY725F/los-angeles-angels-owner-…
The crazy deferral structure now starts making a lot more sense in hindsight. Apparently the bookie was busted in October 2023 and that’s when it came to light that Ohtani was wiring him money. ESPN has apparently been on this for months.
If I’m in his shoes and afraid I might be getting hit with a giant suspension without pay, pay me the minimum, but put $480 million into an escrow account that I get to access after my career is over. Kind of genius.
And if MLB suspends me, the Nippon League would be thrilled to have me back and pay me a giant salary.
Per ESPN: Braves infielder David Fletcher was at an illegal poker game ( at team hotel ) w/ Otahni’s interpreter.
“ Shohei, it’s Donald”
Are the prohibitions against betting on baseball limited to MLB games? He may have bet on NPB games.
I’m surprised Pete Rose hasn’t given interviews about this yet.
He’d be dumb to say anything right now without the full story which none of us have. He still wants his shot at entering the HOF.
This does not bode well for Ohtani. I have no faith in MLB to thoroughly investigate this especially since it’s run by a puppet like Manfraud. By past precedent though Ohtani should be suspended without pay till the “investigation” is over.
Thought he’s already without pay…at least until 2038.
Manfred gonna retire earlier than announced I expect
I wonder if the Dodgers FO would trade Ohtani and all his salary for Bauer on a league minimum contract at this point?
Haha Dodgers have quite the track record. Urias, Bauer and Ohtani. Wonder what’s next? Yamamoto found out to be a hitman for the Yakuza?
Yeah, the Dodgers are becoming the embarrassment of MLB bad luck Mets team of the west coast.
U mad bro?
No but seriously mlb investigating itself and found that it didn’t do anything wrong is a strong possibility.
MLB investigating itself (a player that’s part of the mlb who they anre investigating) and found it did nothing wrong (whatever the player is accused of).
Seems like you let someone on the internet upset you. You felt the need to call them out. Clearly they got to you made you mad. I haven’t seen anyone mention you. Maybe they forgot about you?
Who do players play for? Which league? Pretty sure it’s called Major League Baseball or MLB for short.
You’re probably thinking MLBPA which isn’t actually a league it’s a union designed to protect players rights. Again not a league.
But yes. Players are employed by MLB
Somehow political affiliation comes into the chat. Not a good 24 hours for you. Probably need a timeout UJ.
One way or another, that interpreter screwed-up a pretty sweet gig.
Amen to that! Coincidentally, I just ordered Rosetta Stone’s Japanese course! Wish me luck…
“To this point, there’s been nothing to suggest that Ohtani himself did any betting.”
Nothing? So millions of dollars transferred from a personal account to an illegal gambling ring doesn’t qualify as “possibly involved?” This takes gullibility to whole new level.
@Ubaldo Jimenez
Well, someone did something illegal and to tell me that his translator making $300K per year has a $4M debt, seems pretty ridiculous. Was he translating for every player in the game?
He actually was only making $85,000 until hired by the Dodgers. They bumped his pay to $300k. Which makes the $4.5M of credit even more unbelievable.
@Ubaldo Jimenez
Are you talking about that woman?
Women. 3 women.
And not a single one of them credible
Ubaldo, now that made me laugh.
harambe- I bet that you’re the same type of person that believes that 91 felony counts against someone is a witch hunt and not a sign that m, at the very least, they do some shady stuff…
We’re talking about Bauer here. He, specifically, was framed.
By three women? Yeah, ok…
How many people accused Laci Green of r*pe back in 2016? You mean to tell me every single one of them was lying?
So much for his Hall of Fame asperations.
But he still has Hall of Fame aspirations.
So did Pete Rose. What difference does it make?
Old York
Probably has Hall of Fame perspirations right now
suspension deffered until 2078
I have a few Ohtani rookie cards in Gem Mint 10. Willing to make a deal. No reasonable offer refused.
I have 4 dozen 2018 Topps Update Rookie #US1 PSA graded between 9 and 10. What are they selling for right now?
There is an authenticated baseball signed by interpreter Ippei Mizuhara listed on eBay right now. Not kidding.
For how much? 4.5 million dollars?
sees no evil, covering his eyes
hears no evil, covering his ears
speaks no evil, covering his mouth
Phillies/Braves NLCS. Have a feeling between this and Mookie at SS. Serious concerns after Yoshiyama debut. This is not looking good for the Dodgers. And the Giants added Snell and an all-world defensive 3B to help the back of that staff. Can’t believe it’s gotten to this.
Oh calm down.
So many speculators and experts.
Wow. MLBTR is were the knowledgeable people.hang out.
How could I have.missed.it?
Woohoo! The uber rich and popular guy is getting screwed! Kinda makes you feel good, doesn’t it?
Everybody jump on board!
Maybe send Ohtani to Barrow with.the expansion team?
Arte Moreno is either the luckiest man on earth or the smartest man on earth. Lucky it is.
A broken clock is correct twice a day..
At least an analog one, a digital one might not show any time at all
Or smartest.
Shohei aka the big guy
The mob
.betting
Against.the Dodgers.
Arnold Rothstein is smiling in his grave.
“When I gambled, nothing else mattered.”
Shohei “Jussie” Ohtani.
When your life is so pathetic that you’re hoping for someone to get caught do something illegal because you don’t like a sports team. Get a life, people. Good Lord!
Get a life, people.
======================
Dude, this is part of life. The dude screwed up and is in the news. What are people supposed to do? Ignore it?
Joe, you obviously didn’t read his whole comment. Try again.
It’s the cover up that is provocative
Ohtani may soon be sporting a new uniform with a few more numbers on the back.
It will be like OJ looking for the dude that really did it.
Ohtani is guilty – Trevor Bauer accusers.
We’ll have more on this breaking scandal on MLB Network sponsored by DraftKings in a moment.
Facts: Betting is illegal in CA. Theft & thieving is legal and condoned & approved by certain people in CA. Scale or magnitude of theft is irrelevant.
Easy as 1 2 3 was an easy mute. Fuggin goober.
And you felt the need to announce this to the whole board… why?
Sexual predator? That’s slander!
MLB:
“We are currently in the information gathering stage, but we can preliminarily share that there is no evidence that Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, and the 1919 Chicago White Sox didnt collude to force Shohei Ohtani to commit wire fraud.”
From Ippei to Uppei….
Most of you guys are sad.
You are the same people that said that Bauer fractured the girl’s skull, beat her half to death and on and on.
Reading this, there are STILL idiots who are saying the guy is a sexual monster and on and on. Just because your sex like is boring as hell and you wives only do missionary with the lights off, doesn’t mean that other people don’t like some other things. Sorry to tell you but MOST women like rough.
Now onto Otani, no facts out. No smoking gun. Nothing other than a guy that has 100 bills as plentiful as the sand on a beach that pays off his best friends debt, and these same people need some blood.
I don’t even think Wander Franco got this much hate!
If I pay off my brother’s drug dealer for hole he dug, guess what, I am not a druggie. Paying a drug dealer is illegal I would guess but would anyone really charge me? Hell no. Unless you are Trump, no DA is charging you for something like that. Same with Ohtani. Because it’s HIM, this will become a huge thing. MUCH more than guys who beat their wives, shoot guns to intimidate women, so steroids to cheat, or steal signs in real time to cheat people from MVPs and World Series titles.
GTFOH with this nonsense
It is not mutually exclusive that one of three Bauer accusers set him up as an easy mark and that, at her request, he hit and injured her while she was unconscious.
You lost me after you stopped talking about what most women like
Yeah what a tool. Dude couldn’t get laid in a morgue.
Sounds like you are just really bad at sex if that is what they request. Would also explain the angst…
I bet he didn’t do it.
Did you change your user name to “Jordan” just for this post?
Was “Jordan23” already taken?
@Jordan 5, I see what you did there. Well played. Cigar for you!
My Mother-in-law asked me today if I thought that Ippei and Shohei could possibly be lovers. I never really thought of that, but could this be a big reason this is all happening? They have been inseparable since 2017 and they met in 2013. He might have the Wife role in addition to handling their finances. She thinks it’s weird for Shohei to still have a translator following him around since he’s embarking on his seventh season in MLB.
And maybe the payments to the bookie were because they were being blackmailed and in fact never gambled at all?
Nice fiction.
I am not even sure if I believe that you have a mother-in-law.
You know, that’s not at all out of the range of possibilities
She thought it very strange for Ohtani to get married and for her to pop up out of nowhere. She said they probably did this to protect his image in case Ohtani and Ippei’s relationship is publicly revealed in the next couple of weeks and months. I never even thought of this. My M-I-L has more street smarts than any person I’ve ever met. She constantly surprises me with the way her mind works. She should of been an attorney or a detective. A very smart Lady!
Is she single?
As neither Shohei Ohtani (as a union member) nor Ippei Mizuhara (as a former employee) have any obligation to cooperate, I do not see how an investigation will unearth anything, even if Ohtani did gamble.
There are going to be two entities asking for cooperation. The IRS can be held at bay for awhile by invoking 5th Amendment rights. MLB can be mightily offended by non-cooperation and do whatever they want about it. So far, the MLB investigation is only about Ippei who can be banned but not much else. IRS cases involving bookies don’t prosecute the players. They want the players to inform on the bookie who could lead them to bigger fish like casinos that accept layoff bets from bookies.
Ms Hill is that you?
Looks like Ohtani’s days in MLB are very possibly numbered
Mr. Cochran: If the glove does not fit, you must acquit.
Prosecutor: But he’s just a DH this year.
Mr. Cochran: Oh, sh$t..
Mr. Cochran: If the glove does not fit, you must acquit.
Prosecutor: He’s just a DH this year, he has no glove.
Mr. Cochran: Oh, $hit!
Whatever the course this ippeigate lead us to, this wont be a business as usual year in mlb especially in the ohtani’s camp.
Ah yes, because “doing an investigation” means it can’t be swept under the rug…This site needs an age limit, so many stupid children in the comments.
Reinstate Buck Weaver
He was frozen and will return in the 25th Century
Biddi-biddi-biddi
I can see the headlines now if convicted and banned from baseball… Say it isn’t so Oh!
Headline first reported by ayeah.
But it is not Sadaharu Oh!
How about, “the Sho is ovah!”
Maybe Ohtany can defer any punishment until his playing days are over.
“I never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That’s 100%. I knew that rule. … We have a meeting about that in spring training.”
This is a bunch of bull!
For isn’t this a known rule…baseball players aren’t forbidden from betting on sports, “but doing so with an illegal or offshore bookie is against the rules.” mentioned in their spring training meetings?
If MLB is so strict on their betting rules, I am sure doing so with an illegal or offshore bookie is against the rules is mentioned too in their spring training meetings and he DID break that rule. What then would make you believe he is telling the truth that he never bet on baseball then?
Also, they have been living and working in California for going on 7 years under the known law, “Under current state laws, there is nowhere in California where it is legal to place bets on sports events.” None of this rule is mentioned in any of the spring training meetings?
Again, if he knew the rule to NEVER bet on baseball and yet bet with an illegal bookie AND in a state where gambling is against both of those rules too. Then how can you truly believe he is being honest in that he never bet on baseball?
BS!
It’s another betting scandal bad day for MLB.
And to wrap it all up, he will be on Dr. Phil getting reamed out by Dr. Phil on how could he not know wiring money to his interpreter’s illegal bookie wasn’t going to get him in hot water with MLB and banned from baseball.
Indefinite suspension during investigation in 3…2…1 followed by lifetime MLB ban and criminal prosecution in CA.
For all those on here drawing a legal and practical equivalency between Fan Duel and Bet 360 and MLB players actually betting on baseball, I would remind the readers of a quote by the late, great, Harry Truman. He used to say “the only thing new in this world, is the history you don;t know.” The reason that MLB has historically taken such a hard line on Rule 21 is that gambling on games eventually leads to fixing of games as in 1919. If the fans get the feeling that games are being thrown as they were regularly at the time of the Black Sox, that is the end of the sport, at least at the MLB level. Which is why Pete Rose is still banned from MLB. If Ohtani’s name winds up linked to even one bet on one game…he is done.
Shoheiless Joe
Say it ain’t sho…
I’m not into politics on sports threads, but I don’t think we need a MSM propaganda mouth for vice president. Just sayin
San Fran is calling and they want their tranq and poop back
They must be in Chicago, New York or Texas right now eh?
Wouldn’t that be something if it came out boy wonder is a dirty bird
He’s a St. Louis Cardinal?
For someone that wasn’t supposed to pitch this year, Ohtani can still throw us a curve, then a knuckleball..from 1st story to 2nd story! Interpreter talked, Ohtani’s legal team talked..Ohtani..crickets..Dodgers..No Comment..MLB DOI..Standard statement..Manfred..crickets..to be continued!
Just think how it could be done.
Family member or friend or business partner bets on the game.
Pays you or your family member or friend later.
No geniuses involved.
Manfred was/is bad for baseball.
Manfred was/is bad for America.
This is the 609th reply to this “non-story”.
Non story lol give us a better story to discuss please because this is provocative
And if this is a “non-story” why are you reading and replying to it?
Go Cubs Go!!
This just in. Ohtani gets banned from baseball then gets hired by DraftKings to be their spokesperson.
This is extremely dumb. Sports betting is perfectly legal in many US states and should be legal everywhere. No government has a right to prohibit people from betting their own money. If they actually try to throw the book at him, the jury should nullify.
If he was a white guy from America he wouldn’t be allowed to play