# MLB pitch-rigging case witness testifies he stopped getting tips after Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mlb-pitch-rigging-case-witness-testifies-he-stopped-getting-tips-after-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-scandal/
- Published: 2026-11-07T03:01:27+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T03:20:46+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/06/sports/witness-in-mlb-pitch-rigging-case-stopped-getting-info-after-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-scandal/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Witness says pitch tips stopped after the Ohtani interpreter scandal.
- He received information about Clase through an associate.
- He agreed to forfeit $69,000 and testify for prosecutors.

## Summary

A witness at the federal trial of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz testified that tips about Clase’s pitches, which he used to bet in 2023, dried up the following season. He said he was told there was no more information because of the gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, a development that may provide context for how the alleged betting operation changed.

Uber driver Luis de Aza Baez testified that he received pitch information through a group chat from Clase associate Enoc Pena, not directly from Clase, and said he almost always won his bets. He agreed to forfeit $69,000 in winnings and testify truthfully in exchange for prosecutors dropping a related wire fraud charge. Ohtani was cleared of wrongdoing after interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $17 million to pay gambling debts; Clase, Ortiz and co-defendant Robinson Vasquez Germosen have pleaded not guilty.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.