Just hours after Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, surrendered to authorities Friday on charges that he stole more than $16 million from the Dodgers two-way star, Ohtani himself said he was ready to return to just focusing on baseball.
“I’m very grateful for the Department of Justice’s investigation,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “For me personally, this marks a break from this, and I’d like to focus on baseball.”
Ohtani’s comments Friday were the first he has made publicly regarding the allegations against Mizuhara since a press conference late last month, when Ohtani first accused his longtime friend and interpreter of secretly stealing money from one of his personal bank accounts to pay off gambling losses Mizuhara had accumulated with an alleged illegal bookmaker in Orange County.