Starz picks up drama on gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter

After 18 months of buying the script, the projected Lionsgate Television bid based connected the gambling ungraded involving Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is successful improvement astatine Starz.

The task volition spotlight the audacious theft by Ippei Mizuhara of $16 cardinal from Ohtani to wage disconnected staggering gambling debts. Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers aft the crimes came to airy successful March 2024. A twelvemonth later, helium was convicted of defrauding Ohtani successful national tribunal and sentenced to 57 months successful prison.

The bid volition beryllium produced by Tony Award victor Scott Delman, known for “The Book of Mormon” and “A Raisin successful the Sun,” and sports writer Albert Chen. Alex Convery, who wrote “Air,” is connected committee arsenic showrunner and screenwriter portion Justin Lin (the  “Fast and Furious” franchise) volition direct, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“This is Major League Baseball’s biggest sports gambling ungraded since Pete Rose — and astatine its halfway is its biggest star, 1 that MLB has hitched its wagon on,” Chen said successful a connection to The Times. “We’ll get to the bosom of the communicative — a communicative of trust, betrayal and the trappings of wealthiness and fame.”

Lionsgate was having occupation selling the task to companies with media rights agreements with Major League Baseball — Disney, Warner Bros., Discovery, Apple, Netflix and Comcast — due to the fact that the companies didn’t privation to jeopardize their relationships with the league, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Lionsgate is the erstwhile genitor institution of Starz, but the 2 formally separated successful May.

The communicative unquestionably is compelling. Mizuhara befriended Ohtani successful Japan erstwhile the subordinate who would go the astir accomplished hitting and pitching operation successful shot past was an 18-year-old rookie with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Ohtani came to the United States successful 2018 astatine property 23, signing with the Angels. Mizuhara soon became his astir trusted person and interpreter, serving arsenic an intermediary betwixt Ohtani and astir everyone who spoke English, including the media, his cause and Angels officials.

Mizuhara arranged ligament transfers from Ohtani’s slope relationship without the player’s cognition oregon support and impersonated him during much than 2 twelve telephone calls with slope employees, each to provender a gambling wont that accumulated $40 cardinal successful losses crossed thousands of bets.

Mizuhara allegedly collected $142 cardinal successful winnings but mislaid astir $183 million.

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 cardinal declaration with the Dodgers successful December 2023 and the ungraded came to airy 3 months later. Ohtani was absolved of wrongdoing and described arsenic a unfortunate by national authorities.

“Ippei has been stealing wealth from my relationship and has told lies,” Ohtani said done his caller interpreter, Will Ireton, soon aft Mizuhara was arrested. “I ne'er agreed to wage disconnected the indebtedness oregon marque payments to the bookmaker.

“I’m conscionable beyond shocked. It’s truly hard to verbalize however I americium feeling astatine this point.”

Ohtani rapidly enactment the occurrence down him, starring the Dodgers to World Series championships successful 2024 and 2025. He was named National League Most Valuable Player some years.