Shohei Ohtani Legally Requests Return of $325K of Baseball Cards Ex-Interpreter Bought

A new twist in the long legal saga between Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara.

Ippei Mizuhara pled guilty in federal court to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani earlier this year. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's legal action against his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara took a new twist this week.

Ohtani petitioned a judge this week to claim ownership of about $325,000 worth of baseball cards that were purchased by Mizuhara, who pled guilty in federal court earlier this year for stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodgers two-way phenom. According to The Athletic, Ohtani's request for a hearing about the baseball cards was granted and is scheduled for Dec. 20.

According to the court documents, Ohtani accused Mizuhara of changing his security protocols in his bank account and using that money to buy about $325,000 worth of baseball cards on eBay and Whatnot.

Mizuhara is due to be sentenced in January after pleading guilty in May to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. Mizuhara faces a maximum of 33 years in prison.

Mizuhara, who had worked with Ohtani since 2013 and served as his interpreter for all six of his MLB seasons heading into the 2024 campaign, was fired by the Dodgers in March shortly after accusations of his theft emerged.

Ohtani went on to win the 2024 NL MVP award, batting .310/.390/.646 with a career-high 54 homers and 130 RBIs while helping the Dodgers win the eighth World Series title in franchise history.

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