This is a Bank of America recording from February 2022.

Who am I speaking with? Shohei Ohtani.

Thank you.

How may I help you? So I tried to log in to, uh, online banking, and it tells me that it's not available to me at this time and trying to call.

Seymour would track the Bank of America call to the same cellphone number I called when I interviewed Ipe.

Could you tell me the name of the payee and the amount of the transaction, please? It's for $200,000.

What is your relationship to the payee? Uh, he's my friend.

Okay.

How did you feel about that? Like explain to me what, how that made you feel.

I mean, very appreciative obviously, but same time just felt just really, really, like it was super guilt trip, like really guilty, terrible.

Uh, and I mean, ever since that day, like I s- I, it's always in the back of my mind.

It's haunting me every day.

I always think about it, like it's always there in my head, and I don't know if it'll ever go away.

So what would you say to someone who would accuse you of that?

Um, [laughs] Shohei never ever met Matt Boyer, never talked to him, so there would be no way that Shohei could've, I mean, been doing this on his own or anything, and it was all me.

And that's 100% truth.

How did you feel about that? E-explain to me what, how that made you feel.

I mean, very appreciative obviously, but at the same time, just felt just really, really, like a super guilt trip.

Like, really guilty and terrible.

Uh, and I mean, ever since that day, like I s- I...

It's always in the back of my mind.

It's haunting me every day.

I always think about it.

So what would you say to someone who would accuse you of that?

How did you feel about that? Like, explain to me what, how that made you feel.

I mean, very appreciative obviously, but at the same time, just felt really, really, like, a super guilt trip.

Like, really guilty, terrible.

Uh, and I mean, ever since that day, like, I, I-- It's always in the back of my mind haunting me every day.

I always think about it.

Like, it's always there in my head, and I don't know if it'll ever go away.

So what would you say to someone who would accuse you of that?

Um, [laughs] Shohei never, ever met Matt Boyer, never talked to him, so there would be no way that Shohei could have, I mean, been doing this on his own or anything.

How did you feel about that? Like explain to me what, how that made you feel.

I mean, very appreciative obviously, but same time, just felt just really, really, like I was super guilt-tripped, like really guilty, terrible.

Uh, and I mean, ever since that day, like I s- I-- it's always in the back of my mind.

It's haunting me every day.

I always think about it.

Like it's always there in my head, and I don't know if it'll ever go away.

So what would you say to someone who would accuse you of that?

Um, [laughs] so I never, ever met Matt Boyer, never talked to him, so there would be no way that Shohei could've, I mean, been doing this on his own or anything.

Shohei's teammates and even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't know about it.

I felt like it was a good timing 'cause it's before the season.

I didn't want really any distractions once the season started

And when Shohei signed with the Angels in December of twenty seventeen, he brought Ippei along with him as his interpreter.

I wanna talk about not why I joined Angels, but I want you guys to w- see me, um, trying to adjust with the team throughout the spring training, and maybe then I think you guys will be, find out why I chose the Angels.

It was the right choice.