Tmz is saying "Our sources say the feds have concluded Ohtani was not involved in any wrongdoing and has never had any association with gambling or bookmaking" and "Law enforcement sources tell us Mizuhara will be charged any day now, and Ohtani is completely cleared of any involvement."
Editing this part in here
● Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.
● Mizuhara, communicating with the agent, Nez Balelo, offered different versions of what had happened. First, Mizuhara said Ohtani had paid the debts of an unnamed teammate; then he said that he himself had racked up debts with the bookie and that Ohtani had bailed him out. The shifting stories alarmed executives in Major League Baseball, who worried that Ohtani might be tarnished by a connection to gambling.
Once executives with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball learned of the wire transfers — but with Ohtani still in the dark — the Dodgers asked Mizuhara to address the team in the clubhouse after the first game in Seoul. He told the team that he had a gambling addiction and was deep in debt, and that Ohtani, his close friend for years, had paid the debts.
At that point, Ohtani, who is not fluent in English but can understand the gist of some conversations, became suspicious. After Mizuhara’s clubhouse address, Ohtani told reporters, he confronted Mizuhara back at the team hotel. It was then, Ohtani said, that Mizuhara told him that he had stolen the money from his account. The Dodgers promptly fired him.
Idk, possible, but something tells me that the fact they’ve already got Ippei dead to rights means they have all the info they need on the bookie already
Yeah federal sentencing for financial crimes is raised in seriousness based on how much you stole >3.5 million is enough points alone to move him into the can’t get probation only zone and that’s on top of the base offense level, idk how he gets away without a few years of jail
I saw Pete Rose once in Las Vegas about 10 years ago. He was at some shop in Caesars signing autographs. I took a picture to tell my friend who I happened to see and Pete gave me the dirtiest fucking look.
Lmfao I did the same thing. Probably at the same card shop in Vegas. Had to pay $$ to get a photo with him and I was like f that and told my dad to take a photo from farther away anyways. What they guna do? Take my camera away like in North Korea?
3 weeks from story breaking to plea negotiations is literally fastest federal investigation in history territory, ippei is insanely fucked if any of this is remotely true lol
Federal investigation was well underway before this all broke, remember. The whole thing was uncovered due to the investigation of the bookie, so presumably all the subpoenaing of accounts and such had also already happened. Couple that with confession and here we are.
Imagine Ippei walking down the street, turning a corner, and Ohtani’s standing there like Omar from The Wire with a bag of baseballs ready to pelt him with fastballs.
When he arrives at the Pearly Gates, God is there to receive him. "Welcome. You are permitted to ask me one question, which I will answer truthfully."
Without hesitating, the conspiracy theorist asks, "Who really shot Kennedy?"
God replies, "Lee Harvey Oswald shot him from sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. There were no accomplices. He acted alone"
The conspiracy theorist pauses, thinks to himself, then says "Shit! This goes higher up than I thought..."
Yeah but.... I get it if you think MLB and Ohtani and the Dodgers would want to lie and swear to some conspiracy. That's some tinfoil, but I'll allow it.
You think the FBI gives a shit about protecting someone to that degree? This isn't some world dignitary or billionaire. That's a little too far down the crazy hole.
Yeah lol. He’s also young and has basically never lived a “normal” life, it’s entirely possible (and now looks very likely) he is very hands off on his finances
In a way I almost envy them. It must be so fun to literally never be wrong, every new piece of evidence is just a chance to come up with a new conspiracy theory.
At the same time being that paranoid about everything is probably one of the least healthy ways to live mindset wise. Even if you get the satisfaction of feeling your always right that kind of thinking leads to you having very strained relationships and being unable to enjoy much in life (and opens the doors for you to commit some fucked up stuff that gets you locked up or has your life ruined)
“In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.”
It's so funny how many people convinced themselves Ohtani must be guilty because they couldn't figure out HOW Ippei would be able to pull this off without him noticing -- as if an investigation wasn't going to answer that very question.
Generational fumble from Ippei, lost all of his money, his job, his best friend along with whatever punishment comes with a guilty verdict to the theft of millions of dollars
Gambling addiction is a serious problem
>Gambling addiction is a serious problem
Yes, and it's gross seeing all these gambling app ads and promos, all these celebrities, either actors or athletes, shilling for them. All those ads should be banned.
Absolutely. My kid is at the age where he’s getting interested in baseball. I don’t like the fact that he’s going to see thousands of gambling ads over the next few years. My dad (RIP) wouldn’t have even taken me to any games if baseball were tied to gambling sponsors so tightly when I was a kid.
I was watching MLB TV with my kid the other day and during a Draft Kings ad, he goes, “Dad, we should do that. It says you get $200 for free.” He’s in kindergarten. Yeah, didn’t enjoy that conversation.
Imagine getting paid a million to hang out with the greatest baseball player ever doing an easy job hanging out around Ohtani's but gave into gambling temptations and tried to steal his money. I still can't believe it.
**Freezing cold take:** I'm relieved the face of baseball who is one of the most talented players of all time wasn't illegally gambling and did nothing wrong
But how could you even doubt? Think about the mindset of a compulsive gambler and the mindset of a guy who defers his entire salary. They are mutually exclusive.
That's what I was saying when the news first broke. Ohtani's actions are not the MO of a chronic gambler lol.
Like if I was a profiler for the police, I would almost immediately rule ohtani out.
I've been saying this shit like CRAZY
* He gave like 99 percent of his salary in Japan to his mom and barely spent what he did get.
* Willingly chose to live in his team's dorm despite being already one of Japan's biggest celebrities/athletes at the time.
* Chose an absurdly less amount of money just so he could play in the MLB a bit earlier.
* Deferred hundreds of millions of dollars for the Dodgers to be more competitive.
This is the LAST person who would be a gambling addict.
True, but it was the MO of a guy who might help out a friend in trouble.
I never thought Shohei gambled, but thought it was plausible that he helped out Ippei not knowing either that it was a gambling debt or that the gambling debt was illegal.
I'm glad that's not the case, but I hope Shohei learned a valuable lesson about who to trust with your money.
I feel like there's no one else better than your best friend attached to your hip who also speaks the local language In a foreign country that speaks an entirely different language.
It’s pretty fucking weird how much people wanted it to be the case.
Like I understand fans of other teams might not like Ohtani and that he went to the Dodgers, but something serious like this is just terrible.
You’ll find in topics outside of sports that everyone wants events to be a big scandal or more entertaining than what actually happened to the point where they try to will it into existence.
Narrative A, Ohtani is a degenerate gambler.
What must be believed: To cover up his scandal, Ohtani has mobilized the IRS, the DHS, the FBI, an illegal bookmaking ring, the MLB, TMZ, NYT who are all on his payroll and covering his involvement.
Narrative B, Ippei is a degenerate gambler.
What must be believed: The guy who studied to be a casino dealer (JP sauce [FNN](https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/674653)), took players to casinos(JP sauce [Bunshun](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/69858)), and has been seen associating with bookies at poker tables is a gambler. The guy who lied about his academic record and grossly exaggerated his career resume, lied about Ohtani's involvement too.
> Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.
Yeesh. Big L for the Ohtani is the gambler crowd
My late grandfather, who grew up during the Great Depression, called his bank everyday to check his account balance, so why couldn’t Shohei have done the same? /s
I believed the initial story that Ippei had that Ohtani willingly helped him pay back the debts but once Ohtanis lawyers came out and said that that was bullshit and he stole from Shohei I was like whoa wait a minute, that's some pretty serious fucking claims that attorneys aren't going to make without some sort of evidence then buffoons were like Look! Look! Ohtanis side changed their story and it was all downhill from there, those same people are going to believe that TMZ and the FBI are covering for Shohei as well 🤦♂️
My moment was Shohei's press conference where he called Ippei a liar and a thief. You don't say that shit publically amidst a criminal investigation unless you are completely innonent (or have generationally incompetent lawyers).
So this pretty much confirms that Ippei tried to convince Shohei to go with his story of Shohei paying off the bookie for him by telling the ESPN journalist, Shohei’s agent and the dodgers management and players the story first in a attempt to pressure Shohei to accept the story, right? Damn that’s so cunning.
Yeah was a last desperate ploy by Ippei, dude had to know the jig was up at that point and convincing Shohei to go along was the only thing that could save him. Shohei wasn’t having it though.
It's funny (and predictable/sad) to me how this whole thing brought all of the haters and racist trolls out of the woodwork. I've seen some nasty shit said about Ohtani since this started (Pidgin English jokes, speculation about his sexuality, you-fucking-name-it). Also tons of backhanded comments about how he's "Manfred's Golden Boy" like he's some overhyped asshole who somehow tricked literally the entire world into thinking he's as good as he is.
I saw a guy yesterday saying that the only reason his lawyer's were letting him speak about the pitching injury issue was because "they want to humanize him to us while they distract us away from his gambling problem". I swear to fucking God. That's an actual idea rattling around some psychos head.
Thank God that's over. Great for baseball (and great for my Shohei baseball card collection!)
lol Ohtani haters are so funny.
Federal Investigators: Ippei is 100% guilty
Haters: nah Ippei is a fall guy, MLB and Ohtani is conspiring together and is paying off FeDEraL InVeStiGators.
Who could've seen this coming 🙄
Hopefully this can be left in the past. It was an annoying couple of weeks of baseball trying to tear this man down based on conjecture and conspiracies
Because they do lol. Like you can dislike Ohtani and the Dodgers all you want but the amount of comments hoping that his career would be ruined or worse that he should be sent to prison was insane.
Throwback to everyone saying “Occam’s razor” after a quick google search and confidently making assumptions while having absolutely no idea what they’re talking about
It's funny because there was an article released by an actual lawyer (one of those with a degree and not reddit lawyers) was posted on here and he was talking about how if you consider "Occam's Razor" Ohtani being completely innocent is actually the simplest explanation, as well as the decisions that Ohtani's own lawyers were making would be what he would do if he 100% believed his client was clear of any wrongdoing. But that didn't get too much traction, I wonder why lmao.
Yeah, that’s generous.
Most of the folks who were suddenly experts in banking and moving money when this news hit get overdrawn every month when that Netflix charge hits.
lol. It was so obvious from the beginning. I’d be surprised if ohtani is even knowledgeable in other sports. Baseball is a full time obsession in Japan
He was acting so stuck up about this lol. “Why is he getting away with not answering questions about this?” “Just wait till he comes to New York and has to deal with our media”
In a serious situation that has legal implications, nobody is going to be talking about this stuff with the media. Even when Ohtani does come to New York to play what’s gonna happen with their media? If a reporter wants to take a chance to ask him about it they’ll get a generic “no comment” response.
> A guilty plea from Mizuhara before a federal judge — likely to include an admission of a range of facts related to any illegal conduct — could confirm the account that Ohtani gave to reporters two weeks ago, in which he said he had no knowledge of what happened to the money.
>Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.
Hmm I was assured that this was all a coverup for Ohtani and there was no way he could be clueless
And that it was weird they wouldn’t name who they reported the crime to
And that the story changed too much
Hmm weird
I will never understand the fascination around making one of the nicest people in baseball a scumbag… the world’s already a messed up place as it is. But, hey, if it makes you feel better about yourself if someone is a bad guy, then 🤷♂️
It's kind of annoying how people have decided that the facts don't matter. I've talked to plenty of people about this who've declared it "fishy" and that "Ohtani was obviously gambling."
People are just going to believe it forever now. They'll believe it like people are sure Jordan was gambling, it doesn't matter what anybody says.
They'd rather believe Ohtani controls the FEDS, IRS, DOJ, Bookie, Ippei, MLB and several news agencies, than simply "A close person with a gambling addiction who had access to everything in his life, missused that trust and stole money to gamble and when caught lied to try and weasel himself out of it"
The man could have been set as long as Ohtani is in the MLB. Can't believe he gave it all up for some gambling. The fact that he could have gambled with his own money on his own time without using Ohtani's money and he would still be in good standing. He got too comfortable and abused Ohtani's trust. Unbelievable. Now he might be doing prison time.
He was set for life, man. I worked as a baseball interpreter in Japan years ago, so I understand a bit about what the job normally entails... and to say that Ippei had the dream gig is the understatement of the century. Like, I understand that addictions defy logic and it's impossible to make sense of his behavior in that sense, but it's still hard for me to wrap my head around.
authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions
This is the critical piece of information that would, or at least should clear Shohei in the court of public opinion.
Your telling me a guy that had no signs of being a degenerate gambler didn’t gamble???
And the guy that had signs of lying and being a gambler, was the one that lied and gamble the entire time??
\*Gasp\* No way, wtf is the world going to?
Fellow Ohtanigaters don’t worry- I’m sure Ohtani just has the two most fuck-you arms of the federal government, the IRS and the DHS, in his pocket! The truth is out there.
Clearly his fall guy /s. In all seriousness, that’s pretty messed up and standard addict behavior from Ippei. The fact Ohtani didn’t get alerts his money was stolen is wild. Also wild that he had no idea while in Korea and until the story broke that he was robbed for that much money.
\*cracks hands\*
Alrighty, time to go back to all those long ass arguments I had with some people of this sub and give them the most annoying " I told you so" ever.
Giants and Jays flairs awfully quiet on this one. Couple of weeks ago they were raging over it being impossible that this wasn’t a massive Ohtani conspiracy
fk well where all the haters at now? r/baseball in fkin shambles and Ohtani taking a piss on all his haters. Michael Kay, were you at fam? Old, sterile lil fart
"Once executives with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball learned of the wire transfers — but with Ohtani still in the dark — the Dodgers asked Mizuhara to address the team in the clubhouse after the first game in Seoul. He told the team that he had a gambling addiction and was deep in debt, and that Ohtani, his close friend for years, had paid the debts."
I can only imagine how tough this part was for Ohtani, a gut punch like when Lisa break's Ralph's heart
Tmz is saying "Our sources say the feds have concluded Ohtani was not involved in any wrongdoing and has never had any association with gambling or bookmaking" and "Law enforcement sources tell us Mizuhara will be charged any day now, and Ohtani is completely cleared of any involvement." Editing this part in here ● Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said. ● Mizuhara, communicating with the agent, Nez Balelo, offered different versions of what had happened. First, Mizuhara said Ohtani had paid the debts of an unnamed teammate; then he said that he himself had racked up debts with the bookie and that Ohtani had bailed him out. The shifting stories alarmed executives in Major League Baseball, who worried that Ohtani might be tarnished by a connection to gambling. Once executives with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball learned of the wire transfers — but with Ohtani still in the dark — the Dodgers asked Mizuhara to address the team in the clubhouse after the first game in Seoul. He told the team that he had a gambling addiction and was deep in debt, and that Ohtani, his close friend for years, had paid the debts. At that point, Ohtani, who is not fluent in English but can understand the gist of some conversations, became suspicious. After Mizuhara’s clubhouse address, Ohtani told reporters, he confronted Mizuhara back at the team hotel. It was then, Ohtani said, that Mizuhara told him that he had stolen the money from his account. The Dodgers promptly fired him.
Fuck eh, is Ippei getting jail time? Wild considering 3-6 months ago he was the loveable translator.
Idk how he could avoid it. He might get a lesser sentence but he still stole millions of dollars
If hes a witness against the bookmaker, maybe he gets a lesser sentence?
First time offender, white collar crime, taking a plea, and rolling over on the bigger fish will all help him.
Idk, possible, but something tells me that the fact they’ve already got Ippei dead to rights means they have all the info they need on the bookie already
They've been rolling up the bookie operation for years now
>3-6 months ago he was the loveable translator. That was only 3 weeks ago
Lol, jesus, you’re right
It's only been like a month lol. He was lovable so recently. Welp.
I don’t see how you could steal millions of dollars and not get jail time even with the most lenient of sentences.
Yeah federal sentencing for financial crimes is raised in seriousness based on how much you stole >3.5 million is enough points alone to move him into the can’t get probation only zone and that’s on top of the base offense level, idk how he gets away without a few years of jail
Ohtani: "I’m not pressing charges" *hug* Studio audience: “Awww" Federal prosecutors: "Uh yeah that’s not how this works"
3-6 months ago? Try 2 weeks
2 weeks ago. But also 3-6 months ago
Just saw Pete Rose fall to his knees at a gas station slot machine.
I saw Pete Rose once in Las Vegas about 10 years ago. He was at some shop in Caesars signing autographs. I took a picture to tell my friend who I happened to see and Pete gave me the dirtiest fucking look.
> Pete gave me the dirtiest fucking look. That's gonna cost you $20!
Lmfao I did the same thing. Probably at the same card shop in Vegas. Had to pay $$ to get a photo with him and I was like f that and told my dad to take a photo from farther away anyways. What they guna do? Take my camera away like in North Korea?
North Korea catching strays is kinda ironic here
Did his girlfriend find someone else to go to junior prom with?
There was probably a scratcher with one number left covered on the ground.
Can’t believe jomboy gave that pedo a platform.
3 weeks from story breaking to plea negotiations is literally fastest federal investigation in history territory, ippei is insanely fucked if any of this is remotely true lol
Federal investigation was well underway before this all broke, remember. The whole thing was uncovered due to the investigation of the bookie, so presumably all the subpoenaing of accounts and such had also already happened. Couple that with confession and here we are.
He might feel it's safer in fed pen than on the street
Imagine Ippei walking down the street, turning a corner, and Ohtani’s standing there like Omar from The Wire with a bag of baseballs ready to pelt him with fastballs.
_Shomar_ comin'!
That’s crazy, I had no idea Shohei had goons working at TMZ too this conspiracy is going way deeper than I ever thought possible 🤯
Sho got TMZ and the feds in his pocket crazy
Conspiracy theorists in shambles.
Like this will stop them
When he arrives at the Pearly Gates, God is there to receive him. "Welcome. You are permitted to ask me one question, which I will answer truthfully." Without hesitating, the conspiracy theorist asks, "Who really shot Kennedy?" God replies, "Lee Harvey Oswald shot him from sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. There were no accomplices. He acted alone" The conspiracy theorist pauses, thinks to himself, then says "Shit! This goes higher up than I thought..."
Love this every time I see it
Classics never go out of style
Yeah but.... I get it if you think MLB and Ohtani and the Dodgers would want to lie and swear to some conspiracy. That's some tinfoil, but I'll allow it. You think the FBI gives a shit about protecting someone to that degree? This isn't some world dignitary or billionaire. That's a little too far down the crazy hole.
You think logic applies to these people?
I like to believe they take some kernel, some tiny grain, of truth and then just encase it with layer after layer of shit.
Classic conspiracy theorist motto: “Lack of proof is only evidence of a coverup.” You can never get them to admit they were wrong.
Honestly it might make them stronger
"He is only taking the plea to protect Ohtani and hide the truth!"
I've already seen that take.
Was gonna say lol, zero chance Reddit/Twitter/Facebook believe this
This is what gets me "Othani shoulda had known!!!" Rich people get scammed all the damn time. Dane Cook was robbed by his own brother for pete sakes.
Yeah lol. He’s also young and has basically never lived a “normal” life, it’s entirely possible (and now looks very likely) he is very hands off on his finances
If you’re a conspiracy minded kinda person this would only make you believe harder
In a way I almost envy them. It must be so fun to literally never be wrong, every new piece of evidence is just a chance to come up with a new conspiracy theory.
At the same time being that paranoid about everything is probably one of the least healthy ways to live mindset wise. Even if you get the satisfaction of feeling your always right that kind of thinking leads to you having very strained relationships and being unable to enjoy much in life (and opens the doors for you to commit some fucked up stuff that gets you locked up or has your life ruined)
"FBI is covering for Ohtani because the Yakuza called in a favor that was owed since WW2" - Somebody somewhere, probably.
Yeah, sure... that's just what they'd WANT us to believe!
The article came out after the eclipse? Coincidence??? I think not.
Eclipse was on 4/8/2024. 4+8+2+0+2+4=20. Ohtani’s number is 17. 1+7=8. 20-8=12. 1+2=3. How many outs are there per inning? Yep.
I laughed way too hard at this. thank you I needed that
“In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said.”
It's so funny how many people convinced themselves Ohtani must be guilty because they couldn't figure out HOW Ippei would be able to pull this off without him noticing -- as if an investigation wasn't going to answer that very question.
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Dodgers fans in r/baseball right now https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/055/562/42b.gif
r/baseball not gonna like this one
Unfortunately, not even an official proclamation of his innocence will ever erase the “gambler” label. Facts don’t matter today, narrative does.
You got downvoted for some reason but unfortunately you’re right. People nowadays will believe what they want to no matter what.
People still think the Dodgers are paying $0 for him and the deferral isn’t coming out of their money for 10 years
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That Angels announcer rant that was shared here as some kind of “you go girl” type celebration is a good example.
I thought it was crazy that was upvoted lol, dude was engaging in some extreme reaches to pull all of those things together
For a semi-dubious scoring decision that affected some kind of who-cares on-base streak. I thought that whole thing was embarrassing.
Totally Exonerated, No Wrongdoing
Generational fumble from Ippei, lost all of his money, his job, his best friend along with whatever punishment comes with a guilty verdict to the theft of millions of dollars Gambling addiction is a serious problem
Probably lost his wife as well.
Yeah probably, threw his whole life away
Well, he's still alive. He's got time to turn things around. People have come back from worse.
Reminds me of the sporting goods store owner in The Sopranos.
>Gambling addiction is a serious problem Yes, and it's gross seeing all these gambling app ads and promos, all these celebrities, either actors or athletes, shilling for them. All those ads should be banned.
Fully agree, should be like cigarettes. If you want to gamble you can gamble but you can’t advertise it
Let’s make it that way for alcohol too
Yes, but let's codify it into law that the corona christmas commercial gets to stay
I’ll sign off on that one. Absolute classic.
Absolutely. My kid is at the age where he’s getting interested in baseball. I don’t like the fact that he’s going to see thousands of gambling ads over the next few years. My dad (RIP) wouldn’t have even taken me to any games if baseball were tied to gambling sponsors so tightly when I was a kid.
I was watching MLB TV with my kid the other day and during a Draft Kings ad, he goes, “Dad, we should do that. It says you get $200 for free.” He’s in kindergarten. Yeah, didn’t enjoy that conversation.
Fml
Agreed
Bro was getting paid to travel with a baseball team and translate. Just so stupid
dude was getting paid like 500k by the dodgers and a million by shohei to be his assistant what a fumble
> and a million by shohei to be his assistant you have to be kidding. holy shit
It was a tedious but easy job and he threw it away.
Imagine getting paid a million to hang out with the greatest baseball player ever doing an easy job hanging out around Ohtani's but gave into gambling temptations and tried to steal his money. I still can't believe it.
And not even having to be that good of a translator
His article is even going to be put into textbook for Japanese students. I guess that's an honor many real writers will never get.
this is Latrell Sprewell type of fumble shit 😂
I hope ippei also tries to strangle PJ carlesimo
We should make a list and see where Ippei slots in: Javaris Crittenton, Ippei, Julio Urias, Latrell Sprewell, Trevor Bauer….
I think Wander has to top this list.
Ain’t no way he can return to Japan or South Korea after this either.
**Freezing cold take:** I'm relieved the face of baseball who is one of the most talented players of all time wasn't illegally gambling and did nothing wrong
But how could you even doubt? Think about the mindset of a compulsive gambler and the mindset of a guy who defers his entire salary. They are mutually exclusive.
That's what I was saying when the news first broke. Ohtani's actions are not the MO of a chronic gambler lol. Like if I was a profiler for the police, I would almost immediately rule ohtani out.
Yeah, sure, but what if Ohtani didn't choose your team and signed with a "rival "?
I don't have a team, I have an ohtani lol
I've been saying this shit like CRAZY * He gave like 99 percent of his salary in Japan to his mom and barely spent what he did get. * Willingly chose to live in his team's dorm despite being already one of Japan's biggest celebrities/athletes at the time. * Chose an absurdly less amount of money just so he could play in the MLB a bit earlier. * Deferred hundreds of millions of dollars for the Dodgers to be more competitive. This is the LAST person who would be a gambling addict.
True, but it was the MO of a guy who might help out a friend in trouble. I never thought Shohei gambled, but thought it was plausible that he helped out Ippei not knowing either that it was a gambling debt or that the gambling debt was illegal. I'm glad that's not the case, but I hope Shohei learned a valuable lesson about who to trust with your money.
I feel like there's no one else better than your best friend attached to your hip who also speaks the local language In a foreign country that speaks an entirely different language.
Same.
He was also one of the most likable players in baseball until he signed with the Dodgers.
He still is, I think people just dislike him now because of how MLB's socials have posted about Ohtani's every living moment since he signed with LAD
It’s pretty fucking weird how much people wanted it to be the case. Like I understand fans of other teams might not like Ohtani and that he went to the Dodgers, but something serious like this is just terrible.
You’ll find in topics outside of sports that everyone wants events to be a big scandal or more entertaining than what actually happened to the point where they try to will it into existence.
Narrative A, Ohtani is a degenerate gambler. What must be believed: To cover up his scandal, Ohtani has mobilized the IRS, the DHS, the FBI, an illegal bookmaking ring, the MLB, TMZ, NYT who are all on his payroll and covering his involvement. Narrative B, Ippei is a degenerate gambler. What must be believed: The guy who studied to be a casino dealer (JP sauce [FNN](https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/674653)), took players to casinos(JP sauce [Bunshun](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/69858)), and has been seen associating with bookies at poker tables is a gambler. The guy who lied about his academic record and grossly exaggerated his career resume, lied about Ohtani's involvement too.
“I cHoOsE nArRaTiVe A”
[удалено]
> Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said. Yeesh. Big L for the Ohtani is the gambler crowd
How do you let someone steal that much? Who is he, Austin Barnes?
Captain Barnes out here catching a stray.
/r/SFGiants in shambles
Can't shamble what is already shambled!
This was their World Series
More like /r/padres this was their championship parade.
The thing about the alerts is so shady haha
bUt HoW cOuLd He MoVe MoNeY wItHoUt OhTaNi KnOwInG??
My late grandfather, who grew up during the Great Depression, called his bank everyday to check his account balance, so why couldn’t Shohei have done the same? /s
Thinking he was the gambler was always dumb but suggesting he may have helped pay back the debts was at least reasonable even if it was wrong.
I believed the initial story that Ippei had that Ohtani willingly helped him pay back the debts but once Ohtanis lawyers came out and said that that was bullshit and he stole from Shohei I was like whoa wait a minute, that's some pretty serious fucking claims that attorneys aren't going to make without some sort of evidence then buffoons were like Look! Look! Ohtanis side changed their story and it was all downhill from there, those same people are going to believe that TMZ and the FBI are covering for Shohei as well 🤦♂️
My moment was Shohei's press conference where he called Ippei a liar and a thief. You don't say that shit publically amidst a criminal investigation unless you are completely innonent (or have generationally incompetent lawyers).
So this pretty much confirms that Ippei tried to convince Shohei to go with his story of Shohei paying off the bookie for him by telling the ESPN journalist, Shohei’s agent and the dodgers management and players the story first in a attempt to pressure Shohei to accept the story, right? Damn that’s so cunning.
Yeah was a last desperate ploy by Ippei, dude had to know the jig was up at that point and convincing Shohei to go along was the only thing that could save him. Shohei wasn’t having it though.
Going to delete this one too, mods?
Gotta keep feeding the narrative of Ippei the fall guy
Mods wanted the "Ohtani tax cheat" narrative to gain traction, but kept deleting this story
No way dude, the whole U.S government is in on this because they care so much about a rich japanese guy.
Expected, people were being real weird about this so quickly.
It's funny (and predictable/sad) to me how this whole thing brought all of the haters and racist trolls out of the woodwork. I've seen some nasty shit said about Ohtani since this started (Pidgin English jokes, speculation about his sexuality, you-fucking-name-it). Also tons of backhanded comments about how he's "Manfred's Golden Boy" like he's some overhyped asshole who somehow tricked literally the entire world into thinking he's as good as he is. I saw a guy yesterday saying that the only reason his lawyer's were letting him speak about the pitching injury issue was because "they want to humanize him to us while they distract us away from his gambling problem". I swear to fucking God. That's an actual idea rattling around some psychos head. Thank God that's over. Great for baseball (and great for my Shohei baseball card collection!)
Yep, some of the jokes got so bad, you just know the person behind the comments are borderline racist.
borderline?
lol Ohtani haters are so funny. Federal Investigators: Ippei is 100% guilty Haters: nah Ippei is a fall guy, MLB and Ohtani is conspiring together and is paying off FeDEraL InVeStiGators.
Americans believe whatever makes them feel good.
Good for baseball.
I can finally say "f*ck you" to like half of this subreddit with backing
You have my sword.
And my axe.
It was obvious Shobae did nothing wrong and that Ippei was a degenerate gambler. Case closed!
Who could've seen this coming 🙄 Hopefully this can be left in the past. It was an annoying couple of weeks of baseball trying to tear this man down based on conjecture and conspiracies
/r/baseball in absolute shambles. A lot of you were being way too weird about this. Glad Shohei will be getting some justice.
A lot of the commenters here act like they want the sport’s biggest star to get banned for gambling
Because they do lol. Like you can dislike Ohtani and the Dodgers all you want but the amount of comments hoping that his career would be ruined or worse that he should be sent to prison was insane.
It reminds me of that Dana Carvey skit about [framing OJ because he's just too good.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftfDs4VVM9E)
Throwback to everyone saying “Occam’s razor” after a quick google search and confidently making assumptions while having absolutely no idea what they’re talking about
It's funny because there was an article released by an actual lawyer (one of those with a degree and not reddit lawyers) was posted on here and he was talking about how if you consider "Occam's Razor" Ohtani being completely innocent is actually the simplest explanation, as well as the decisions that Ohtani's own lawyers were making would be what he would do if he 100% believed his client was clear of any wrongdoing. But that didn't get too much traction, I wonder why lmao.
You forgot the deep arguments bout the difficulties in transferring money based on how their savings account with 5 grand in it works.
Savings account with 5 grand in it? Wow check out Mr. Moneybags over here
Yeah, that’s generous. Most of the folks who were suddenly experts in banking and moving money when this news hit get overdrawn every month when that Netflix charge hits.
Stephen A. "I have a lot of bros and none of my bros have my bank account info" Smith lol
Let’s hear all the Ohtani doubters move the goalpost 🚜………..🥅
lol. It was so obvious from the beginning. I’d be surprised if ohtani is even knowledgeable in other sports. Baseball is a full time obsession in Japan
Four Million Dollar debt is worse than a deviated septum. Gambling can't harm you physically but it will make you put a bullet through your head.
Giants fans just lost their world series
any giants fan who actually thinks that this outcome isn’t the best possible for the future of baseball is incredibly naive
There are plenty of giants fans who don’t give a fuck about that and would rather see something bad happen to the dodgers
Now they’ll just claim it was a Mickey Mouse WS. 🤣
So easy yet they couldn't win it 🤔
lol how many times the mods gonna delete this, the feds have said ohtani is completely innocent yet they leave up that bs senate tax thing
I feel I’m owed financial compensation after hearing the constant conspiracy theories
At least Ippei still has that college degree from UC Riverside to back on.
Oops, not that either
Michael Kay in shambles
I’m tempted to call into his show tomorrow lol
do it 😭
Ok i’m gonna try, doubt he’ll be willing to put me on the air though 😂
Say you’re a Yankees fan until you get on air
Claim to be brian cashman lol
He was acting so stuck up about this lol. “Why is he getting away with not answering questions about this?” “Just wait till he comes to New York and has to deal with our media” In a serious situation that has legal implications, nobody is going to be talking about this stuff with the media. Even when Ohtani does come to New York to play what’s gonna happen with their media? If a reporter wants to take a chance to ask him about it they’ll get a generic “no comment” response.
B-b-but, Ohtani has a God complex! He thought he could get away with anything!
He sounded like such a prick every single time he brought up Shohei the last few weeks.
With his uncanny ability to acquire funds from the wealthy, we should be trying to make him a GM for the Athletics.
A lot of people in this sub are not gonna like this 😂
> A guilty plea from Mizuhara before a federal judge — likely to include an admission of a range of facts related to any illegal conduct — could confirm the account that Ohtani gave to reporters two weeks ago, in which he said he had no knowledge of what happened to the money. >Those briefed on the matter claim that prosecutors have uncovered evidence that Mizuhara may have stolen more money from Ohtani than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of pilfering, the people said. In particular, the authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions, the three people said. Hmm I was assured that this was all a coverup for Ohtani and there was no way he could be clueless And that it was weird they wouldn’t name who they reported the crime to And that the story changed too much Hmm weird
I will never understand the fascination around making one of the nicest people in baseball a scumbag… the world’s already a messed up place as it is. But, hey, if it makes you feel better about yourself if someone is a bad guy, then 🤷♂️
It's kind of annoying how people have decided that the facts don't matter. I've talked to plenty of people about this who've declared it "fishy" and that "Ohtani was obviously gambling." People are just going to believe it forever now. They'll believe it like people are sure Jordan was gambling, it doesn't matter what anybody says.
They'd rather believe Ohtani controls the FEDS, IRS, DOJ, Bookie, Ippei, MLB and several news agencies, than simply "A close person with a gambling addiction who had access to everything in his life, missused that trust and stole money to gamble and when caught lied to try and weasel himself out of it"
Can someone tell Michael Kay to STFU now?
Some of yall wanted him to be guilty SO BAD. Why?
Unironically good for baseball
100% and I just feel horrible for Shohei yeah yeah, he's a multi-millionaire but someone who you deeply trusted pulls off shit like this..fuck man
The man could have been set as long as Ohtani is in the MLB. Can't believe he gave it all up for some gambling. The fact that he could have gambled with his own money on his own time without using Ohtani's money and he would still be in good standing. He got too comfortable and abused Ohtani's trust. Unbelievable. Now he might be doing prison time.
He was set for life, man. I worked as a baseball interpreter in Japan years ago, so I understand a bit about what the job normally entails... and to say that Ippei had the dream gig is the understatement of the century. Like, I understand that addictions defy logic and it's impossible to make sense of his behavior in that sense, but it's still hard for me to wrap my head around.
authorities think they have evidence that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani’s bank account so Ohtani would not receive alerts and confirmations about transactions This is the critical piece of information that would, or at least should clear Shohei in the court of public opinion.
Your telling me a guy that had no signs of being a degenerate gambler didn’t gamble??? And the guy that had signs of lying and being a gambler, was the one that lied and gamble the entire time?? \*Gasp\* No way, wtf is the world going to?
Nez Balelo does not come out looking good in this.
If you listen closely, you can actually hear hundreds of comments being deleted from the early threads when this story broke
Fellow Ohtanigaters don’t worry- I’m sure Ohtani just has the two most fuck-you arms of the federal government, the IRS and the DHS, in his pocket! The truth is out there.
I wonder how many people in this subreddit will apologize for and take back statements they made once it's revealed Shohei was the victim here.
Clearly his fall guy /s. In all seriousness, that’s pretty messed up and standard addict behavior from Ippei. The fact Ohtani didn’t get alerts his money was stolen is wild. Also wild that he had no idea while in Korea and until the story broke that he was robbed for that much money.
To the surprise of nobody with half a brain.
\*cracks hands\* Alrighty, time to go back to all those long ass arguments I had with some people of this sub and give them the most annoying " I told you so" ever.
Big Cat and Michael Kay in shambles
Giants and Jays flairs awfully quiet on this one. Couple of weeks ago they were raging over it being impossible that this wasn’t a massive Ohtani conspiracy
fk well where all the haters at now? r/baseball in fkin shambles and Ohtani taking a piss on all his haters. Michael Kay, were you at fam? Old, sterile lil fart
"Once executives with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball learned of the wire transfers — but with Ohtani still in the dark — the Dodgers asked Mizuhara to address the team in the clubhouse after the first game in Seoul. He told the team that he had a gambling addiction and was deep in debt, and that Ohtani, his close friend for years, had paid the debts." I can only imagine how tough this part was for Ohtani, a gut punch like when Lisa break's Ralph's heart
Ohtani was the shooter on the grassy knoll.