David Fletcher of the Los Angeles Angels returns to the dugout after being forced out at second base against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning of a baseball game on Sunday, September 24, 2023, in Minneapolis.
11:02 JST, May 22, 2024
Major League Baseball is expected to investigate former Angels player David Fletcher for gambling on sports with a bookmaker who also took bets from Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because they were not at liberty to discuss such looming matters.
ESPN reported Friday evening that Fletcher had placed bets with Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker in Southern California. Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off sports gambling debts during a yearslong scheme, sometimes posing as the Dodgers superstar to bankers.
Sources told ESPN that Fletcher, who currently works at the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, bets on several sports, but not baseball.
MLB declined to comment on the Fletcher report.
The league’s gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from betting on baseball, even legally. MLB also prohibits betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers. The fine is at the discretion of the commissioner’s office.
Fletcher was a teammate of Ohtani during the Japanese two-way sensation’s six years with the Angels. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December, while Fletcher was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He is now with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
Diane Bass, Bowyer’s attorney, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and the Ballengee Group, Fletcher’s baseball representation, declined to comment on the ESPN report.
Mizuhara pleaded not guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud, a formality ahead of a plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors and signed May 5 in a sprawling sports betting case.
Ippei Mizuhara, center, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani, leaves federal court after his arraignment, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Los Angeles.
In a March interview, Fletcher told ESPN that he attended a 2021 poker game in San Diego where Mizuhara met Bowyer for the first time. Fletcher said he knew at the time that Bowyer was a bookmaker, adding that he himself had never placed a bet on Bowyer’s operation.
