- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on a television show Friday that the Shohei Ohtani gambling investigation will come to a close shortly.
- Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off an illegal bookmaker in California.
- Manfred’s comments make it seem that he’s convinced Ohtani is innocent and the investigation won’t persist much longer.
LOS ANGELES – The Shohei Ohtani gambling investigation expects to “wrap up shortly” based on comments by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Baseball’s biggest star is the focal point of this USA online gambling investigation for his bank account wiring more than $4 million dollars to an illegal bookmaker in California.
Ohtani’s interpreter admitted to stealing the money and sending it to the California gambling bookmaker, but many fans became suspicious there was more to the story. The MLB and the federal government are in the midst of parallel investigations, which expect to come to an end shortly.
Manfred Confident Ohtani Investigation Will End Soon
During Friday’s episode of The Carton Show, Commissioner Manfred expressed his confidence with the integrity of the game despite MLB gambling, and that Ohtani’s investigation will end soon.
“I thought Ohtani’s public appearance was really credible and really transparent, but I thinks it’s incumbent upon us just to make sure that we can verify the story that’s there to give our fans the absolute assurance about the integrity of the game,” said Manfred on the sports talk show. “I don’t think this is going to be long. I think it can be relatively short and you know, the fact that there is a parallel federal investigation, I think in this particular case may actually help us.”
Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been with Ohtani since 2017 but was fired by the Dodgers due to the scandal. Mizuhara interpreted for Ohtani back with the Los Angeles Angels, and followed the two-time MVP to the Dodgers after he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract back in December.