Introducing: The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani - "The Letter O" | EP 1

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This episode introduces the explosive investigation into Shohei Ohtani's alleged involvement in a massive illegal sports betting operation through his

Key takeaways

• Shohei Ohtani's meteoric rise as a baseball superstar was shadowed by an unverified but deeply damaging scandal involving illegal betting through his interpreter.
• Matt Boyer, Ohtani's longtime interpreter, is revealed to be linked to a large-scale underground sportsbook operation in California, where legal betting does not exist.

Main topics

• Shohei Ohtani's World Series victory and public image
• Illegal sports betting operations in California

Notable quotes

"I'm going to travel the country, chase down leads, and try to understand how one of sports' most complicated friendships detonated into one of the biggest scandals in baseball history." – Tisha Thompson

Conclusion

The episode sets the stage for a deep dive into one of baseball's most controversial stories,

Transcript preview

Speaker 7 (0:00) Hey everyone, it's Andrea. You know, growing up in Philly, sports were never something you watched casually. They were personal, part of your identity, really. And when you're a lifelong sports fan like me, you understand loyalty. Between a team and its fans, between lifelong teammates, and between an athlete and the people they trust most. So when I heard a story that brings sports and betrayal together, I had to know more. Shohei Ohtani was one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. But behind his meteoric rise was a mysterious man Ohtani trusted more than almost anyone. His interpreter. After six years working alongside Ohtani, his interpreter became a close confidant. But that relationship built on years of trust almost threatened everything. ESPN investigative reporter Tisha Thompson and her team broke the story. Now they're taking us inside the investigation to show us how it all really unfolded. For our Betrayal listeners, I'm excited to share a special preview of episode one of this season of ESPN's 30 for 30 podcast, The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani. This is The Letter O. Enjoy. Speaker 6 (1:27) It's November 2024, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in their home stadium celebrating their World Series win. The players line up on the podium. Team manager Dave Roberts takes the mic and introduces some of the stars. Speaker 1 (1:42) And Speaker 6 (1:47) then he calls out the name everyone's waiting for. Speaker 2 (1:56) Shohei Otani just finished his first season with the Dodgers. He's a head taller than a lot of his teammates, and he's wearing a T-shirt and backwards ball cap when he gives a shy grin as he takes the mic. Speaker 1 (2:11) This is so special for me. Speaker 2 (2:15) This is one of the first times that Shohei has spoken publicly in English without an interpreter. I'm Speaker 1 (2:22) so honored to be here and to be part of his team. Congratulations, Los Angeles. Thank you, guys. Speaker 6 (2:33) That's all he says, and the crowd absolutely loves it. Speaker 2 (2:41) By any measure, Shohei's first season with the Dodgers was extraordinary. Here's a 2-1. Speaker 1 (2:48) There's a drive! It's a goal! Shohei arrives in October! Ohtani sets one in the air. Back it goes! Season! Shohei! Speaker 6 (3:17) Many believe he could become the best baseball player of all time. It's really not hyperbole, guys, to say that Shohei Ohtani is the Speaker 5 (3:24) new Babe Ruth. Speaker 2 (3:35) It's the kind of success that helps overshadow what happened just months before, at the start of this season, when Shohei was caught up in a scandal that could have ended it all. Speaker 1 (3:47) We're going to turn to the scandal, Rocky Major League Baseball. Shohei Ohtani is set to address the media today. The scandal has the potential to be one of the biggest sports scandals that we've ever seen, certainly one of the biggest baseball scandals that we've ever seen. Speaker 2 (3:59) Our team at ESPN broke the story. It tied the money of one of the highest paid players in baseball history to a vast illegal sports betting operation. But when it was over, he would walk away and someone else, someone close to him, would confess to a shocking crime disappearing in disgrace. Speaker 2 (4:26) And in this moment, at the World Series celebration, you could almost forget it ever happened. But two years later, I still have so many questions. So I'm going to travel the country, chase down leads, and try to understand how one of sports' most complicated friendships detonated into one of the biggest scandals in baseball history. Speaker 2 (5:07) I'm ESPN investigative reporter Tisha Thompson. From 30 for 30 podcasts, this is The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani. Episode 1, The Letter O. Speaker 2 (5:23) I started working on this story a year before Shohei won that World Series, when a source sent me a tip. At first, the tip seemed to have nothing to do with baseball or any sport. It was information from a federal court document still under seal, a list of items that had been seized from a house in California. It included the kinds of things you might expect from a federal raid, computers, hard drives, and cell phones. But there were also $40,000 Breitling watches, handbags from Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and casino chips. Lots and lots of casino chips. Why were the feds interested in it? Because all of these things were taken from a house owned by a man named Matt Boyer. Speaker 2 (6:17) The feds also seized a cash counting machine, sports betting records, and receipts for offshore bank wires. And that's when I say to myself, I think Matt Boyer is a bookie. A person who takes bets, pays them out when they win, and collects when they lose. My source confirms it. Matt Boyer is a bookie. But he isn't just any bookie. According to my source, his clients include celebrities, millionaires, and seemingly one of the most famous athletes in the world. When my source tells me the name of that athlete, it's a name so big, so shocking, that all I write down is the letter O. Speaker 3 (7:01)