MLB investigating gambling, theft allegations involving Ohtani, interpreter
Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into illegal gambling and theft allegations involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and claims from Ohtani's attorneys that the two-way Japanese star had been the victim of a “massive theft.”
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei (Mizuhara) from the news media,” the commissioner's office said in a statement Friday. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers were in Seoul, South Korea, for their opening series against the San Diego Padres when reports were published about alleged ties between the 39-yearold Mizuhara and an illegal bookmaker. The teams returned to the U.S. after Thursday night's game and MLB did not make a public comment until announcing the investigation on Friday.
The IRS confirmed Thursday that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency's Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. ORIOLES REASSIGN PRIZE PROSPECT >> Jackson Holliday's major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles will have to wait.
The Orioles announced they had reassigned Holliday to their minor league camp, meaning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft won't start the season in the majors.
Holliday, 20, is the son of former seven-time AllStar outfielder Matt Holliday and is regarded as one of baseball's top overall prospects. Holliday made a strong case to make the major league roster this spring, going 6 of 14 with two homers, six RBIs and two steals in Grapefruit League action.
LORENZEN SIGNS WITH RANGERS >> Free agent righthander Michael Lorenzen signed a one-year contract and joined the Texas Rangers, giving the World Series champions another starting pitcher less than a week before the season opener.
The deal is reportedly worth $4.5 million, and the pitcher can earn another $2.5 million in performance bonuses.
DC arena
PLAY IN WASHINGTON THROUGH 2047 >> The attorney general for the District of Columbia contends that the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals are obligated to play their games in the downtown arena through 2047, the city's latest salvo to keep the teams from leaving.
In a letter Brian Schwalb wrote this week to Monumental Sports and Entertainment, Schwalb cited a 2007 bond agreement for renovations that extended the teams' lease for 20 more years beyond the initial timeframe through 2027.
The letter comes as Monumental's $2 billion plan for a new arena across the Potomac River in Alexandria has stalled in the Virginia legislature.
Schwalb said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's $500 million offer to renovate Capital One Arena still stands. Bowser in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post last month urged Monumental to consider that and said the city would enforce the lease terms if necessary.
Tennis SUSPICIOUS MATCHES DECREASED IN 2023 >>
The number of suspicious tennis matches around the world went down for the second consecutive year, and there were none at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2023, according to an annual review by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
The ITIA received 101 match alerts — which aren't proof of match-fixing but an indication “something inappropriate may have occurred,” the agency said — in 2023, down from 109 in 2022 and 113 in 2021.
In addition to no such alerts at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, the ITIA reported none from any 500- or 1000-level events on the WTA or ATP tours.
There were 41 people sanctioned in 2023 under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, including nine who received lifetime bans from the sport, the ITIA said.
Pro basketball PELICANS' INGRAM SIDELINED WITH KNEE INJURY >>
New Orleans Pelicans highscoring forward Brandon Ingram has a bone bruise in his left knee that is expected to sideline him at least two weeks, the team announced.
Ingram hyper-extended his knee during Thursday night's loss at Orlando and was helped off the court.
The prognosis for Ingram, who has averaged 20.9 points this season, leaves open the possibility that he could return before the end of the regular season. The Pelicans (4227) are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture.