MLB has officially opened an investigation on former Los Angeles Angels second baseman and current Atlanta Braves minor league player David Fletcher regarding his illegal gambling allegations.
MLB has opened an investigation into David Fletcher over his gambling ties, per @TJQuinnESPN. …https://t.co/h4FXKMgxfT
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) May 20, 2024
MLB Opens Investigation Into Former Angel David Fletcher
The Ohtani Connection
David Fletcher played for the Angels from 2018 to 2023 and was a teammate of Shohei Ohtani for most of that time. As the baseball world already knows, Ohtani had his own gambling allegations that came to a tragic conclusion. Ohtani’s best friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara is facing charges of bank fraud after allegedly stealing over $16 million from Ohtani. He then allegedly used that money to pay off his accrued illegal gambling debts.
While looking into Ohtani and Mizuhara, investigators discovered that Fletcher had connections with the same illegal bookmaker that Mizuhara was using. At the time of writing, it appears that Fletcher did not bet on baseball, and while there aren’t any rules about major leaguers betting on sports aside from baseball, they obviously can’t participate in any illegal operations.
Colby Schultz
David Fletcher, former Angel, now in the Braves’ system, bet on sports with the same bookmaker who took bets from Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter. Fletcher’s best friend, Colby Schultz, who played in the Royals’ system, placed bets on games that Fletcher played in.
(Per @TishaESPN) pic.twitter.com/T0akJpsYbE— Pack the Brew (@PacktheBrew) May 18, 2024
Where this goes from bad to worse, is that Colby Schultz, a Kansas City Royals minor league player and friend of David Fletcher, not only also used the same illegal booker that Mizuhara and Fletcher used, but he bet on baseball games that David Fletcher played in. It’s entirely possible that Fletcher didn’t play up to his capabilities during these games, as money was on the line.
As of this writing, none of the players or organizations involved have given any statements on this. In all likelihood, they won’t either, considering it’s a legal investigation at this point. Fletcher was traded to the Braves earlier this season as a salary dump, so no matter the results of this investigation, it’s not likely to have an impact on the actual baseball of it all.
Photo Credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
