Who is Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara? Everything we know
Ippei Mizuhara shot to fame when he started to work with Dodgers megastar Shohei Ohtani, but was suddenly axed Wednesday after media reports about alleged illegal gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara made a name for himself working as an interpreter in the baseball world, but his career shot to a new level when he paired with Los Angeles Dodgers megastar Shohei Ohtani.
Now he's is at the center of a major MLB scandal: Mizuhara has been fired as Ohtani's attorneys say the athlete was the victim of a “massive theft” in a case tied to sports gambling, and the MLB has opened an investigation.
While details are still coming to light, here's everything we know about Mizuhara, 39.
Mizuhara met Ohtani when he went to Japan to work as an interpreter for the Hokkaidō Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, Nippon.com reported. Ohtani had joined the team as a rookie in 2013.
When Ohtani, already on the rise as a coveted two-way player who excelled at pitching and hitting, signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, he brought Mizuhara along with him.
Rating: 5