The baseball world was rocked on Wednesday, when news broke regarding a concerning matter that involves Shohei Ohtani. The two-time AL MVP’s attorneys have alleged that his long-time interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, committed “massive theft” of the star’s funds to place bets.
According to a report from ESPN, Mizuhara admitted to the Los Angeles Dodgers that he has a gambling addiction. The ball club fired Mizuhara once the story broke.
Who is Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter?
Mizuhara is 39 years old and was born in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan. He moved to the Los Angeles area with his family in 1991 and graduated from University of California, Riverside.
Mizuhara has been working as a Japanese-to-English (and vice-versa) interpreter since the late 2000s. After serving a role for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, Mizuhara landed his first big MLB job as Ohtani’s personal interpreter as soon as he signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
Mizuhara was constantly in the spotlight due to Ohtani’s inability, or unwillingness, to speak English. The interpreter could be seen with Ohtani during all of the player’s interviews. Mizuhara played a crucial role in helping Ohtani get acclimated to his English-speaking teammates, and he helped his teammates in the process as well.
He had become a fan favorite with the Angels, even getting a huge ovation during introductions for the team’s home openers every season.
Naturally, Mizuhara followed Ohtani to the Dodgers once the mega-star signed a massive deal in December. But their partnership has now come to a painstaking end.
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