Shohei Ohtani had something lined up for Friday, Oct. 25, long before the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their spot in the World Series. Long before he made more MLB history. Long before Freddie Freeman’s historic grand slam decided a heady curtain raiser against the New York Yankees.

It’s a 30-mile drive from Dodger Stadium to Santa Ana, Calif., where Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud.

Ohtani’s former interpreter — and close confidant — admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from the MLB star to fund his spiraling gambling debts.

He is believed to have placed 19,000 bets between December 2021 and January 2024 – an average of almost 25 a day. He won $142m but lost more than $180m.

Mizuhara now faces a maximum sentence of 33 years in prison; his sentence was set for October 25 at 2 p.m. PT – three hours before Jack Flaherty threw the first pitch in Game 1.

Ippei Mizuhara (L) was accused of stealing $17 million from baseball icon Shohei Ohtani (R)

The Los Angeles Dodgers star signed a 10-year, $700 million deal as early as December 2023

Last month, however, the hearing was postponed until December – at Mizuhara’s request. That cleared Ohtani’s diary. On Friday night, his only meeting was a first date with the Yankees.

Mizuhara’s guilty plea had already cleaned Ohtani’s slate. Major League Baseball concluded its investigation and reiterated authorities’ findings: its biggest star was nothing more than a victim. Case “closed”.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, said they were “glad Shohei and the team can put this whole thing behind them and move forward in pursuit of a World Series title.”

Rather, both statements undercut the mysterious web of guilt and deceit that entangled the greatest player this sport has seen—perhaps since Babe Ruth.

Back in December 2023, the two-time MVP had signed the richest contract in team sports history when he joined the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million deal. But within months he was tied to an illegal bookie, “The Real Housewives of Orange County” and a Hollywood law firm whose clients range from Prince Andrew to Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ohtani remained silent, except to protest his innocence. Through lawyers. And then via a 650-word statement in Japanese, when the 30-year-old said he was “sad” and “shocked” by the “lies” and betrayal of “trust”.

Earlier this year, Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in California

Ohtani is mobbed by reporters before Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees

His words were translated into English by Dodgers staffer Will Ireton. That had been Mizuhara’s job ever since Ohtani joined Major League Baseball in 2018. He was his interpreter but also, it is claimed, his coach, driver and best friend.

They shared a cupboard, they ate at the same table and they sat next to each other on the bench. They have been compared to ‘peanut butter and jelly’.

Hence why questions lingered, even after Mizuhara was fired and Ohtani was formally cleared of any wrongdoing. The two-way star was acquitted in April but the case cast a shadow over his first season. Some fans are still wondering: is there more to this story?

Earlier this week, Ohtani was involved in another record deal. The Japanese superstar is the only player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

He reached uncharted waters last month, and the ball that Ohtani sent over the fence was recently put up for auction. It sold for $4.39 million, breaking the previous highest fee for any sports ball.

It was a striking illustration of Ohtani’s value to the Dodgers — and his sport. However, it was small change. At least compared to the numbers flitting between his bank account and the underworld of gambling in recent years.

Ohtani, authorities found, had no idea his old friend was plunking down his millions. And as early as November 2023, the two-way star was unaware that he was also being seen. Mizuhara received a message that exposed the dark thread running through this strange case. It was from ‘Bookmaker 1’; Ohtani was identified only as “Victim A.”

He is the only player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season

Mizuhara had been Ohtani’s interpreter and confidant since he joined Major League Baseball

‘Hey Ippie (sic), it’s 2 o’clock on Friday. I don’t know why you don’t call me back. I’m here in Newport Beach and I see (Victim A) walking his dog, it said. ‘I’m just going to go up and talk to him and ask how can I get in touch with you since you’re not answering? Please call me back immediately.’

By then, authorities said, the transfers from Ohtani’s accounts had reached $500,000 a time. The first fraudulent transfer – for $40,000 – surfaced two years earlier but agents traced the dots all the way back to 2018, when Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels.

He had reportedly met Mizuhara in 2013. Five years later, they went to a bank in Arizona together. The interpreter helped Ohtani open an account and then impersonated his friend to trick the bank into giving him access to the money.

Another key turning point came in 2021, when Mizuhara met Mathew Bowyer at a poker game in San Diego. Soon he had started gambling with the illegal bookie. He soon found himself in debt.

By the end of 2022, it said, the interpreter owed more than $1 million. Soon he was reportedly $4 million in the red. At some point, the interpreter changed the contact information on Ohtani’s bank account so that it was linked to his phone number. That way, the bank would call him to verify wire transfers.

Last October, Bowyer’s home was raided by federal agents, just before Ohtani signed the biggest contract in baseball history. Mizuhara moved with him across Los Angeles and soon his troubles followed Ohtani from the Angels to the Dodgers as well.

Mizuhara allegedly sent cash to ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ Ryan Boyajian

A giant mural of Ohtani has been painted at a hotel in Little Tokyo, a neighborhood in LA

Ohtani’s name was reportedly found on two wire transfers to Bowyer totaling $1 million. The first explanation? He had made the payments to cover Mizuhara’s debts – originally believed to be around $4.5 million.

All the while, Los Angeles was preparing for the start of the 2024 regular season. The Dodgers’ opener — against the Padres — was held in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Before the game on March 20, a bomb threat was made against Ohtani. The police searched the Gocheok Sky Dome before concluding that it was a hoax. But inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse, another fuse had been lit.

The game continued and Mizuhara sat in the dugout. Later that evening, however, the interpreter admitted that he had a gambling addiction. Club manager Andrew Friedman reportedly told his team that Ohtani had covered for his friend.

But within hours, Mizuhara’s story began to unravel. Ohtani’s lawyers claimed they had “discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”

The statement came via Berk Brettler LLP, a hotshot law firm in Hollywood that represented some of the biggest names in showbiz. Ohtani allegedly rumbled Mizuhara after asking what had been said in the clubhouse.

Baseball star hired Berk Brettler, founded by Andrew Brettler (L) and Blair Berk (R)

The Los Angeles superstar is flanked by his new interpreter Will Ireton on Thursday

The interpreter was fired by the Dodgers and then, the following month, Mizuhara was accused of stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani “to fund his voracious appetite for illegal sports betting.”

A few weeks later, it was alleged that Bowyer’s associate — to whom Mizuhara had wired money — was Ryan Boyajian, a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” The irony.

Few athletes guard the privacy of their personal lives as closely as Ohtani. Now he is forever bound to reality television.

During spring training, Ohtani announced his marriage to former basketball player Mamiko Tanaka on Instagram. None of his teammates even knew he had a girlfriend.

Glimpses behind the curtain of Ohtani’s life are rare and that only adds to the mystery of this case. So does his dependence on an interpreter. But the language barrier has never hindered Ohtani at the plate. Nor did this remarkable history dash his hopes of leading the Dodgers to glory.

The World Series will end in early November. A few weeks later, Mizuhara will learn his fate and this strange chapter in Ohtani’s career can finally come to an end.