Shohei Ohtani speaks on translator's gambling scandal - but what does it mean?

Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz and Russell Dorsey address the key points from the Dodgers two-way superstar’s statement to the media on Monday and what it says about what he knew - or didn’t know - about his former translator’s gambling scandal.

Video Transcript

JAKE MINTZ: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star addressed the media for the first time on Monday afternoon since news broke last week that he is mixed up in a federal gambling probe involving his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. We're going to break it down. I'm Jake Mintz. That's Russ Dorsey. Here are the four main takeaways from what Shohei Ohtani said. Number one, Ohtani claims he never gambled on sports, and particularly baseball. Russ, what say you?

RUSSELL DORSEY: The biggest part-- the second part you just said there, didn't gamble on baseball-- I think all the information that we know as of right now, based off of the reports that are out there, was that there was no belief that Ippei or Shohei would have bet on baseball, but the other sports was the big thing. And I think for both of us talking to people, trying to gather information over the last week, there was no real belief that Shohei Ohtani was the type of guy that was really interested in sports betting.

Like, that wasn't his thing. I've had somebody tell me it was on planes, buses, he's looking at his swing, and he's looking at what he threw in his bullpen. Being on Twitter or Instagram, let alone a FanDuel or a PrizePicks, was not something that he'd be interested in.

JAKE MINTZ: Right. This is not a guy with multiple screens with various sporting events on. It is the type of thing, if you were the type of gambler that would be $4.5 million in the hole, you would probably be spotted by one of your teammates at some point watching a different sport. That is not the case. Ohtani reaffirmed that idea during his press conference on Monday. Point number two, Ohtani claims that he never agreed to pay off the debts on Mizuhara's behalf.

RUSSELL DORSEY: I think that's the second big thing that-- I guess when you listen to-- if you're on social, you hear people talking conversation, I think there was a belief in this of, OK, I could understand if somebody wanted to pay off their debt for a friend, right? Like, if you have a friend who's in a bad situation that you've known for so long, you're like, all right. I'm not cool with this. But because I love and care about you, I'm going to take care of you.

Shohei put all that to rest. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. That did not happen at all.

JAKE MINTZ: Right. This was, in his words, not him looking out for a buddy. This was not doing someone a solid, floating them $4.5 mil to pay off some debts. As far as Ohtani knew, Ippei was just his interpreter and friend, and not someone who was stealing money from him. And what's important about this point that Ohtani makes is like-- I never agree to pay off the debts-- we now have Ohtani land versus Ippei land. OK? Ippei is no longer in the camp.

He is out on an island on his own. Last we heard, he didn't even have legal representation for his sake. Even if he's guilty, I hope he does now because he certainly might need it. All right, third point-- and this is very specific-- Ohtani claimed that Ippei stole directly from his accounts. Russ, how is it possible that someone could take $4.5 million from Shohei's account without him noticing?

RUSSELL DORSEY: The big question that everybody has, how in the hell does somebody-- when it's not your account, it's not your name on the account, and you're not authorized-- get that access? Because you can go to your local bank right now, if you try to deposit 10 grand, there's going to be paperwork. If you try to withdraw 10 grand, it's going to be paperwork. You can't even-- I can't even send you, Jake Mintz, $10,000 on Venmo or Cash App or something like that without there being a paper trail.

And so how does this happen? We know about the two wire transfers of $500,000 apiece from Shohei Ohtani's account to the bookmaker. And I think people-- when you're thinking about this situation, it is crazy to believe that somebody can withdraw that much money from someone else's account without them knowing. But I've talked to translators before, right? Like, all around Major League Baseball. This is not just a 9 to 5 at the ballpark.

This is outside the ballpark. I've had translators say I've gone to kids' PTA meetings with a player to be a translator. They've gone to the apartment complex where the player is staying to talk to the leasing office. Like, this is not just something that is only baseball, and then we don't see each other. This is something-- this was the lifeline for Shohei Ohtani for the last seven years, and even beyond.

JAKE MINTZ: Translating to the media is the job of-- the aspect that we see the most when it comes to interpreting, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. These folks are doing so much more for the players behind the scenes. They are the conduit-- especially in Ohtani's case, he's the conduit to American society, right? That being said, just because Ippei had access to Ohtani's accounts, in my opinion, does not make Ohtani, or the other members of his camp, blameless in this matter.

Shohei Ohtani is a big boy. He is an adult. OK? He is a part of the world, and he had $4.5 million stolen from him. And both he and the people around him should have been more aware of that fact. And I think painting Ohtani as this agentless character is almost a disservice to him, right? He is a-- he is living in the real world just like you or me. And I think he does deserve some scorn and criticism, even if it played out the way that he claims it did.

RUSSELL DORSEY: He's an adult. He's an adult, and I think that's the biggest part. You're right in that he is a deity. And we've created, whether it's us in the baseball media, whether it's fans-- because he is such a tremendous talent doing things that we have never seen before, we have him up here. And when a real life situation, as what's been unfolding over the last seven to 10 days happens, then you're like, oh yeah, this is a human being and human beings who are flawed.

And maybe there was something nefarious that happened under his watch. Maybe there was something nefarious that happened that he didn't know about. But either way, to view him in this light where he can do no wrong, is a disservice to both him and to us in the media and fans at large.

JAKE MINTZ: He is a sympathetic character perhaps, but certainly not an innocent one, right? Even if we believe everything he says. Last point is that Ohtani is not going to be talking about this again. He ended the press conference with a very basic expected "I'm looking forward to the season." So even if Ohtani addresses members of the media, I am very curious, Russ, to see how he is going to avoid commenting on what is the biggest story in the sport.

RUSSELL DORSEY: You and I both know reporters in the game of baseball who heard exactly what he just said, but will not stop asking him about it--

JAKE MINTZ: Nor should they.

RUSSELL DORSEY: --and that can create tension between player and media, team and media. That's another story for another day. But I do find it, for a player who seemingly gets better every year, now we actually have something that is not an injury that can take your focus away from performance-- for a team in the Dodgers that is expected to be World Series or bust, right? You have three MVPs lined up back to back to back.

This is all stuff where outside of what would be this probe into illegal gambling is like, hooray, this is really cool stuff for baseball. Now, for Shohei Ohtani coming off of an MVP season, you now have the person that you trusted the most no longer in your corner. You have a new interpreter that you probably don't know coming in translating for you. And you even saw in his press conference today, those two dudes going back and forth mid-sentence to say-- figure out what was actually being said.

And the last thing that I took away from it, this could be something that is nothing but body language from Shohei Ohtani when he was finishing his statement and talking about what he has felt the last couple of days. You could tell a dude who was uncomfortable with having to find the words to describe what he was feeling and what has happened over the last week or so. And he struggled, and damn near got emotional, from a guy that we haven't really seen that much emotion out of since he got to the big leagues.

JAKE MINTZ: But that's all understandable. I mean, if it played out the way that he claims it played out, that is a legitimate breach of trust with one of the most, if not the most important person in his life for a decade plus. How do I think this impacts Ohtani's performance or the Dodgers moving forward? Frankly, I think it doesn't impact it at all. I think this guy is super good, and this team is super good. And it will be a distraction maybe, but I'm skeptical that it will impact on field performance.

I think my last takeaway from the way Ohtani ended things, we're not getting information from him for a while- about this topic at all. If there's more information that comes out, it's going to be from lawyers. It's going to be from press releases. It's going to be from reporters. It is not going to be Ohtani sharing anymore. He has shared everything that he wants to share about this as it stands. He will and should be asked more questions about it.

However, I am incredibly skeptical that he is going to divulge anything beyond what we've already learned. I'm Jake Mintz. That's Russ Dorsey. And for Yahoo Sports, that's our take on the weirdest, wildest, biggest story in the baseball world right now.