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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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A former teammate of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has reportedly come under fire for taking bets with the same bookie that Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara used. David Fletcher, an infielder with the Los Angeles Angels during Ohtani's time with that team, and his friend both reportedly bet on sports with bookmaker Mathew Bowyer. ESPN's Tisha Thompson broke the news of the bets being placed.
Ohtani signed with a lucrative $700 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason, bringing Mizuhara along with him to be his interpreter.
These reports about Fletcher come after Mizuhara stole almost $17 million from Ohtani to pay off his gambling addiction. He agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and submitting a false tax return earlier this month. Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers in March after they learned that he stole from Ohtani.
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Fletcher was first mentioned in association with Bowyer back in March when the Mizuhara story took off. He told ESPN that he had met Bowyer before but never placed any bets with him.
Fletcher said that he was present at the infamous 2021 poker game where Mizuhara first met Bowyer. According to the original reporting, Fletcher didn't introduce Bowyer to Mizuahra, but rather it was an acquaintance of Fletcher that allowed Bowyer into the game originally.
In the reporting, Thompson states that Fletcher bet on multiple sports but not baseball. This is crucial information in the case, as the MLB allows players to place bets on other sports that aren't baseball. However, it's illegal to use bookmakers such as Bowyer to place any bets.
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The rules from the league are that if a player is caught betting with illegal bookmakers, they are then open to punishment by the commissioner.
During his time with the Angels, Fletcher was considered to be a very close friend to Ohtani. He was traded from the Angels to the Atlanta Braves this past offseason and has been playing with their Triple-A affiliate for most of the year after going unclaimed on waivers. In the eight at-bats that he has seen with the Braves, he has hit .250 with two runs batted in.
If these reports are determined to be true, Fletcher could find himself in some trouble. It remains to be seen what will come of it all, but it's a bad look on the Angels and baseball as a whole that this has been happening under their watch in recent years.
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