Jul 30, 2026 · 45 min · 16 segments
Shohei’s life has been well-documented since he was a young baseball phenom in Japan, but digging into Ippei’s past reveals a more complicated picture than anyone knew. *Next episode coming Tuesday…
Tisha ThompsonHost
Tim Keown
Steven OkamotoGuest
Mitch LivelyGuestA developing story in baseball.
The interpreter is accused of using the ballplayer's money to cover millions of dollars in allegedly illegal bets.
ESPN investigative reporter Tisha Thompson is here with us to tell us more about this.
Good morning.
So I wanna be clear, no charges have-
How does your interpreter have access to your bank accounts?
So a lot more questions still to be answered.
Most of the answers I had were based on what Ippe and Ohtani's people had told me, and I still wasn't sure who to believe or what really happened.
[dramatic music] It was a perfect story for sports fans and talk radio, a classic he said, he said.
What's been strange here is how many versions of the story have come from Ohtani's camp itself.
So initially, Ohtani's camp said Ohtani was kind of generously paying off the debts for his interpreter.
Then Ohtani's lawyers came in.
They said, "Actually, no, he never knew anything about this.
Mizuhara had been stealing money from him for years."
In those early days after the story broke, what you believed often came down to whether or not you rooted for Shohei and the Dodgers.
I 100% don't believe that Ohtani's involved in the gambling at all.
Yeah, I feel like he might have not known.
A developing story in baseball.
The interpreter is accused of using the ballplayer's money to cover millions of dollars in allegedly illegal bets.
ESPN investigative reporter Tisha Thompson is here with us to tell us more about this.
Good morning.
So I wanna be clear, no charges have-
How does your interpreter have access to your bank accounts?
So a lot more questions still to be answered.
Most of the answers I had were based on what Ippe and Ohtani's people had told me, and I still wasn't sure who to believe or what really happened.
[dramatic music] It was a perfect story for sports fans and talk radio, a classic he said, he said.
What's been strange here is how many versions of the story have come from Ohtani's camp itself.
So initially, Ohtani's camp said Ohtani was kind of generously paying off the debts for his interpreter.
Then Ohtani's lawyers came in.
They said, "Actually, no, he never knew anything about this.
Mizuhara had been stealing money from him for years."
In those early days after the story broke, what you believed often came down to whether or not you rooted for Shohei and the Dodgers.
I 100% don't believe that Ohtani's involved in the gambling at all.
Yeah, I feel like he might have not known.
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3 of 4
Ippei Is The Boss
Reporter recalls clubhouse hush around interpreter
Growing Up Between Cultures
Friend describes Ippei's childhood identity struggle
Teenage Baseball Card Hustle
High school memories of Ippei's side business
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