New Delhi, India

Baseball player Shohei Ohtani's translator is in a huge spot of bother. He has been sacked after the player's lawyers claimed there had been a “massive theft” from the slugger’s account.

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As per a report in ESPN, several sources revealed that Ippei Mizuhara -- Ohtani's interpreter -- had run up large debts to a Californian bookmaker. At first, a spokesperson for the player said Ohtani had transferred $4.5 million in order to cover Mizuhara’s debts. However, on being enquired further by ESPN, the spokesperson changed his earlier claim and said Ohtani’s lawyers would release a statement soon.

“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” read the statement from Berk Brettler LLP on Wednesday (March 20). 

On Tuesday, Mizuhara mentioned that Ohtani -- who is Japan's biggest baseball sta -- had helped him cover the gambling debts.

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ESPN also spotted two documents comprising payments of $500,000 in Ohtani’s name from September-October. The website reported that the payments were made to an associate of Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmarker with whom Mizuhara was in touch to place gambling bets (after stealing from Ohtani). Bowyer's bookmaking operation is under scanner and being investigated by federal investigators.

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Mizuhara said on Tuesday, "Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about [the debt] and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again. He decided to pay it off for me. I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again."

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Mizuhara further added, "I never bet on baseball. That’s 100%. I knew that rule ... We have a meeting about that in spring training."

Notably, Ohtani and Mizuhara have been close friends beyond their working relationship. Mizuhara became Ohtani’s translator ever since the star moved from Japan to play for the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. The current development has surely put their relationship under test.