The Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara last week. Three months earlier, the team called Mizuhara „Shohei’s best buddy.“
Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani will make his first public comments on Monday about the controversy that has clouded the start of MLB’s 2024 season. Ohtani plans to speak to the media about his now-fired interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara last week, after Ohtani’s representatives said they „discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.“
Ohtani will speak at approximately 2:45 p.m. PT, a Dodgers representative told NPR. His remarks will be available on a live video feed, including on the MLB Network. Later Monday, the Dodgers host the Los Angeles Angels for an exhibition game; first pitch in that contest is slated for 6:10 p.m. ET.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he welcomes Ohtani’s plan to speak out.
„I think it’s good. I think it’s the right thing to do,“ Roberts said during a media scrum on Sunday, according to the L.A. Times‘ Jack Harris. „I’m happy he’s going to speak, speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think it’ll give us a little bit more clarity.“
Ohtani, a two-time American League MVP, signed a blockbuster $700 million deal with the Dodgers during the off-season.Investigations are ongoing
Mizuhara has told ESPN investigative reporter Tisha Thompson that he ran up massive gambling debts (at least $4.5 million, according to Thompson) with an illegal gambling ring that was allegedly run by Mathew Bowyer, who lives in Orange County, Calif.
