Is The Shohei Ohtani Gambling Story Believable? An Insider Perspective

The story of Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter's gambling problem is still dominating the baseball world. For good reason. 

It's a fascinating story, with a number of inconsistencies and details that deservedly cast doubt on the "official" version of events. Video from the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout from the ninth inning of Wednesday's game in South Korea also raised questions, considering the pair's longtime friendship.

READ: Video In Dodgers Dugout Casts Doubt On Shohei Ohtani Interpreter Story

Initially, Ohtani's interpreter Ippei Mizuhara claimed in an interview with ESPN that after revealing his gambling addiction, Ohtani had agreed to help him out by paying his $4.5 million worth of gambling debts. That story changed though by the next day, with Ohtani's lawyers saying he'd been the victim of massive "theft."

That's raised legitimate questions about how possible it'd be for someone to siphon off that much money without his boss's knowledge. And based on experience in mildly similar situations, I can tell you that it's a lot easier than one might expect.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers at bat in the second inning during an exhibition game between Los Angeles Dodgers and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 17. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)

There's no way to know exactly what kind of financial relationship Ohtani and Ippei had without direct knowledge. And considering the stakes and ramifications, it's likely we may never get more direct knowledge without authorities demanding it.

But from the outside, as someone with experience working for extremely wealthy individuals, I have seen that it is stunningly easy for those close to their employers to have or gain access to